Turnabout
by Spiritwolf71
Summary: Shepard has destroyed the Reapers and disappeared. Most have gone back to some sort of normal life, but Liara just can't let go. I will try for at least one chapter a week if not more. Any critism is welcome as well as thoughts and ideas. Really look forward to reviews, they are what inspire and spur me on, so if you like you read , or don't, please review.
1. Chapter 1

The vehicle had come out of nowhere. Liara had watched Shepard's narrow escape from the path of a tossed Mako, but had missed seeing the one that came for her. Barely escaping being crushed under the wreckage, she was not without injury. She had hurt her leg and broke two ribs, taking her out of the rush for the beam.

They had just finished fighting their way to the missiles and defended them as endless Reaper troops tried to stop them. It had all been a nightmare, but she would never forget the terrible screech of the grossly disfigured Asari. It was a sound that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

They had made it through the chaos and taken down the destroyer. It had been a small victory but one that seemed to give everyone a sense of renewed hope, like they just might be able to win this war. It was a rail they road as they all charged to the beam in a final push. Even while living the experience it had felt like a dream.

They had lost so many, but it was almost over. Just one last push but she Garrus were eliminated in by a flying vehicle coming from nowhere.

Shepard had called the Normandy to return and helped them board when it arrived. Liara was almost up the ramp when Shepard released her and turned back.

"You got to get out of here," Shepard had said. Liara was more than aware Garrus was holding her up, had he not been she would have fallen. She knew she was out of the fight; there was nothing she could do. She would only slow Shepard. The thought of Cayle running of and leaving her behind once again prompted her to call out.

"I'm all right, Shepard," She argued, they both knew she was not.

"Don't argue with me Liara," Cayle stated firmly.

"You're not leaving me behind." Again, she almost added, she knew she was not talking about being left behind for the battle. She knew there was a good chance she was never going to see her lover again. Shepard would run off and she would be gone. She felt more pain in her chest then she did in her leg or ribs, her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest.

Shepard turned back and looked her and the whole battle field seemed to grow quiet. For a few brief seconds there were only two people in the whole world, the rest was just back ground. Cayle did not even need to say anything; her eyes conveyed the love she felt. "No matter what happens, you mean everything to me Liara," She said as she climbed back up the ramp and took held her hand. She looked deeply into Liara's eyes. "You always will." She whispered as she cupped her check and kisses her briefly on the lips.

Liara could barely form words. "Shepard, I, I am yours," she managed, but could not get anything more out.

Cayle released her hand and smiled. "I know." With that she turned and ran back towards the beam and out of Liara's life. She and Garrus were left behind as the ramp to the cargo bay doors closed, neither of them able to speak. When the ramp finally clicked shut Liara's heart broke, but she was still frozen in place, they both were. They stood there until Doctor Chakwas came and retrieved them personally.

It had been like a dream, except that it had been real.

Five years had passed but Liara relived those final moments every morning when she woke and it was her final thoughts as she lay down to go to bed. She could close her eyes and could see Cayle as if the woman was standing right in front of her. She yearned for her constantly, to hold her hand, to look into her deep and caring blue eyes and to run her hands over her smooth skin and through her thick black hair.

She missed everything about her and no amount of talking, or therapy had been able to bring her closure. It did not help that Shepard's body had never been found. There had been lots of people who had died during the war who had never been found. Shepard had been at the heart of the catalyst when it had exploded, that whole area of the citadel had been pretty much destroyed. Even knowing that Liara had never been able to fully believe Shepard was gone.

There had been a memorial on the Normandy prior to leaving Thedius, the planet they had crashed on. As Cayle's lover, she had been tasked to place her name plate on the Normandy's memorial wall. She had been unable to, placing it on the wall would be like hammering a nail in Shepard's coffin. Not that it mattered; once the ceremony was complete Ashley had been tasked with placing it just above Andersons.

Liara drew a deep breath as she stood from her desk and moved to the large viewport that graced her office. Being the combination of the Shadow Broker, a Prothean expert and a scientist pretty much kept her busy. It was rare that she had a moment to just sit alone and think. She didn't like to have spare time.

Once, Shepard had warned her about becoming a creepy hermit as the Shadow Broker, they had both laughed about it. Now the joke was on her, it was exactly what she had become. Save for the occasional visit from her friends, mostly Garrus and Tali, she was always alone.

It would be even pathetic if she did not have purpose, but she had found herself one. She had been tracking and tracing several leads on Cerberus. They had become even more powerful as most planets struggled to rebuild from the Reaper Invasion. They had taken over Omega prior to the war and had a base somewhere on the other side of the Omega 4 relay. The Illusive Man was dead; however there was always someone ready to fill a seat of power. Liara was determined to find out whom that someone was.

Shepard had been vocal in her displeasure with Cerberus. She had always been frustrated that the Illusive Man worked against her instead of with her; always been convinced that had they worked together the Reapers would not have been a threat. For a while, Liara was convinced the Illusive man believed that also, which was why he brought Shepard back, why he had helped them to the Collectors base, but then he had changed; been indoctrinated.

As much as Liara knew about the Illusive Man, she knew nothing about whomever it was that replaced him. She just knew that Cerberus had taken advantage of the weakened state of all the council races and their allies. The council forces had already found and destroyed a few, new, Cerberus bases but there seemed no end to them. Liara was determined to find that end.

The door to her office opened and her assistant appeared carrying her lunch. Not that Liara was hungry; she barely ate at the best of times. Falere had made it her job to make sure Liara remained healthy. The Shadow Broker had rescued her from a life of solitude, gave her a job and a purpose, which did not involve a lot of interaction with others. Not that Falere, an Ardat-Yakshi, was like her sister Morinth. She did not use her condition to kill people and use their essence to grow stronger. She was perfectly able to control her urges. Like Liara though, she had never been the same since the loss of someone she loved.

"You need to eat," Falere said standing by the food. It was silent for a long moment and Falere looked down to Liara's desk and picked up a pad. She frowned. "You have still not responded to Admiral Hackett, the memorial."

Liara looked back to the other woman. "I am still thinking about it," she answered. It would be nice to see the old crew again but she was still unwilling to concede that Shepard was dead. "I have a new lead on Kai Leng. I will miss an opportunity if I go to the memorial." They both knew she was lying; she could follow up on that lead at any time.

"Liara," Falere began. "It's not just for Cayle. It's for everyone that gave their life. Admiral Anderson will be mentioned as well, you really liked him. Even if you want to believe Shepard is alive, you can go for him and for her friends."

"I will think about it. Thank you," Liara dismissed her and looked to the food.

Five years, she was only a hundred and fourteen; she had her whole life ahead of her. She could not see past her pain to move on. So much had changed in five years but Liara had remained the same.

The council had been re-established, without the Salarians. Although small pockets of Salarians had come forth and helped with the war effort, the Dalatrass had not aided the allies and that had never been forgotten. Instead, the Quarians had taken their place.

The Quarians had soon become the most important race in the galaxy with their engineering expertise. They were the ones that finally managed the repairs, not only on the Mass Effect relays but to the citadel. They had managed to reboot the Geth and Tali had repaired EDI. If one did not look too hard they would not ever know that there had been a devastating war.

Liara moved back to her desk as her communicator rang at her. Looking at it for a long moment, she hoped it would stop, but it persisted. It was Garrus, she knew what he wanted. He and Tali would be going to the memorial and they would want to drag her with them. They pretty much dragged her everywhere. She often wondered where they found time to even look after her now that they had two adopted children to look after.

Liara smiled to herself at the thought. She was more than certain it would not have been Garrus' idea to adopt. The Turian had spent the majority of his years fighting and rebelling, he would have been the first to admit that children scared him. It would have had to been Tali's suggestion, she was made to be a mother. It was cute, watch Garrus with them. As it turned out he was a great father. Liara love to watch them with their children.

Finally, she answered the call and Garrus' face appeared. She smiled to him and sat down. "I have not decided," She said simply.

"I haven't even made a question yet!" Garrus said. He waved his hand. "And hi, how are you?"

"Tell her the children want to see her," Tali was calling in the background somewhere. It was still strange to hear her voice without the metallic twinge the mask had once given her. Liara sighed.

"Everyone will be there," Garrus said. She knew the rest of his speech. They had not been together since the Normandy had made its way back to Earth. Tali and Garrus had gone to Rannoch, where Tali had retired. Garrus was the Turrian Ambassador, next in line to be the Primarch. Everyone else had gone their separate ways.

Ashley was now the Commander of the Normandy, a fact that disturbed Liara slightly. Liara did not dislike Ashley. She just found that she could not talk with the woman. Shepard had always regretted working with Cerberus. It had been a necessary evil as the Alliance and the Council refused to do anything about the Human colonies disappearing in the Terminus systems. Cerberus was willing to through the time and resources into eliminating the threat and Shepard had used them for that reason only.

Ashley had refused to help Shepard and the Spectre understood this. Ashley was loyal to the Alliance and could not see what Cayle saw. That would have been fine if the Marine had not taken it a step further and openly distrusted Shepard. Not only during that mission but even when Shepard had returned Ashley was still highly vocal about her distrust in her superior officer. Shepard had made peace with Ashley long before the final battle, but Liara had always remembered and could not forget.

James had joined the N7 program; Liara kept tabs on him now and then, just because she still cared for him. Joker and EDI were still aboard the Normandy, EDI was still linked to the ship, even more so after her re boot. Javik had tried to settle into a normal life but was restless. He became an agent for Liara and was good at his job; however she always sensed a deep sadness in him.

She kept less tabs on what she considered Shepard's other team even though most of them were doing well. She watched Miranda, afraid of one of two outcomes; Cerberus would entice her back into their folds, or they would kill her. Liara did not like Miranda but Shepard had always considered her a sister.

"I don't know Garrus, I have responsibilities and leads and…"

"Are still chasing Cerberus? You know that's dangerous. You need to stop blaming them for Shepard."

"I don't," She lied, "But they are still strong, stronger than all of us since the war and I think they need to be dealt with before they get worse. People didn't listen when the Reapers were a threat and look what happened."

"Liara," Garrus said in that voice he used on his children.

"No, Garrus don't talk to me like that. I know things that most do not. I know only a little of what Cerberus is up to and even that makes me nervous. They have access to Omega 4 relay and the remains of the collectors' base. They have not stopped trying to better humanity. We still find some of their husk army."

"I'm not saying I don't believe you, I'm just saying that you can't take them on alone. There is a time and place and people are still rebuilding. Hell they just opened the Citadel, which will also be celebrated. It's a big deal Liara and you need to be there, since Shepard can't."

There, he went and played the Shepard card, he knew she could not resist that. Yes, Shepard would have been there if she was still, alive. "That's not fair."

"Nothing ever is," Garrus smiled, Liara could not help but smile back.

"I'll get you back for that."

"I love you too Liara. All the arrangements have been made and Tali and I will come and get you."

"You're not going to give me a chance to back out, are you?"

"No, not this time," Garrus said simply.


	2. Chapter 2

*Ok, This Chapter went a whole different direction then I intended it to go. *

Chapter 2

Cerberus had never had a problem finding suitors to finance their organization. When one would leave other would simply fill the void. Even now, when most of the galaxy was in economic ruins they were growing stronger. They were even more economically sound than the Salarians, who had not entered the war.

Losing the Illusive Man had been a blow. It had taken Cerberus the better part of a year to recover the reaper technology that had been stored on Cronos. Not that mattered, Reaper technology was all over the place now. Cerberus had lost their edge in that department. But it was the human reaper technology that Cerberus was interested in. Tens of thousands of humans had lost their lives to the construction of the Reaper it was only fair to find out what made it special.

They had never been able to recover the whole human Reaper but they had managed to get back the important part. They had stolen back the power source, most of the mainframes and more importantly its weapon system.

It had been moved back to the other side of the Omega 4 relay for safe keeping.

For the first few months after the fall of the Illusive Man, things had been in total chaos. People were not sure what to think, should they run, should they stay. What did his death mean? A lot of people figured he was the head of Cerberus; for a certain faction of the group he was. Cerberus always kept their cells separate from each other with no one cell knowing about another. The Illusive Man had done some amazing things in his time, but he was certainly not the center of Cerberus.

After he had died the fight for his position had been brutal. Several suitors had vied for the spot and several suitors had been killed. Even now there was backstabbing and political assassinations. It was almost as if it would never end, almost.

It was a test of cunning and strength and the Ambassador had been playing it well. He remained in the background watching and learning. When he was ready he had put his pieces in play. He had manipulated and turned leaders against each other. He had allowed them to fight and tear at each other's throat while he carefully manipulated played with them. His vision was so much more then petty politics. He would bring Humanity to its peak and watch them reign over the rest of the universe, because that was all that mattered.

He could tolerate aliens to a certain extent. They were useful as tools, to be put away when one was done with them. Cerberus had become too soft over the years. First; with allowing Aliens on the Normandy, allowing them to then leave the Normandy. Then, they had played a large part in the fall of the Illusive Man. The Ambassador would never have allowed any of that to happen.

He shook his head slowly at his thought as he made his way down the hallway. He traveled lighter than most with only one briefcase and two others trailing behind him. His reputation was well known in the Cerberus circles and as expected, people scurried to get out of his way. He paid the no heed to them as he continued.

He reached the doors at the end of the hall and without even missing a step, pulled them opened and moved inside.

For a split second it was as if time seemed to freeze as ten pair of eyes turned to focus on him. He ignored all of them but the pair at the head of the table. Tyler Cain, the self-appointed head of Omega station. He watched in mild satisfaction as the man's eyes widened. The Ambassador's face did not change in the slightest as he brought a brief case up and rested it on the desk. The silence in the room was thick.

"Ambassador, we were not expecting you," Tyler mumbled, sounding more like a child with his hand in the cookie jar than a Cerberus executor.

The Ambassador was not a big man, average at best. What separated him from the rest and caused grown men to quake when he focused on them, were his eyes. His look of disappointment was often a death sentence and his piecing gaze of anger, a falling guillotine.

"No, I imagine you were not," The Ambassador said as his two colleagues joined him in the room. They stood on either side of him like a sordid contrast. To his right the woman cross her hands in front of her and stood at ease, like a good soldier would. Her short blonde hair was neatly trimmed, as to not interfere in anyway. She wore a light grey business suit with a slight bulge on her right hip. A long sword hung from her back. Her face was emotionless and her green eyes were unwavering.

To his left, stood Kai Leng. He was much darker then the woman, with black armour and black messy hair tied into a pony tail. One could not really see his eyes through black visor he chose to wear. He carried no weapons that one could see. He also folded his hands in front of him.

"I would have prepared…" The business man started.

"Prepared what; a dossier on your failures," The Ambassador started. He could smell the fear that was permeating the room, it was a wonderful aroma. He opened his briefcase and threw a pad on the desk. "You are weeks behind on the Tholian project. We are beginning to think that you lied to us about that, either that or you were too stupid to check you're findings before sending them to us." He threw another pad at him. "The Quarians have more information than we do on the Reapers. They were your responsibility as well, we have heard nothing."

"Well, I, we were just discussing our findings on the Reapers. We have developed a whole new drive system…"

"That has failed in testing every single time," The Ambassador interjected. "We have investors that are looking for results, not failures. We were ahead of the race when the Reaper war ended but you somehow; single handily, drove us back three years. This will not be tolerated. I will be taking over this branch of Cerberus and you and your pathetic board have been terminated."

Without warning the two that had been following the Ambassador swirled into action. Kai Leng attacked the startled council from behind while the woman jumped on the table and struck from above. It took less than minute as they seemed to split the table. When the screaming and begging had stopped the woman held Tyler by the hair, her sword at his neck, The Ambassador moved forward.

"We will no longer tolerate failures in Cerberus." He said simply and nodded to the woman. Her sword cut deep and fast and she stood back as the dying man fell to the floor. The Ambassador smiled to her as she looked into his eyes. The Ambassador turned to Kai Leng. "Now, talking about failure," He said slowly.

The assassin took a few seconds to realize what was happening, "What?!" The Ambassador would have loved to see the surprise in his eyes, but he wearing that annoying mask, as if he thought he was some sort of super hero.

"You, Kai Leng, have a long list of failures, one that seems to grow larger yearly. You failed to kill the Salarian councillor. You failed to kill Miranda Lawson and you fail the Illusive Man on Cronos. That was just the beginning. Last year you failed to take out Ashley Williams, you almost lead Vikarrian to my base and a week ago Liara T'Soni found out your mission on the Citadel. This is not tolerated and you can consider yourself terminated. Lissa, please take care of business, then we can return home."

Lissa looked to Kai Leng dispassionately. Truth be told, she had always disliked the man. He was sure of himself, cocky, and had a tendency to underestimate everyone. That was probably the main reason why she was tasked to eliminate him. The Ambassador had informed her of his plan the day before and she was more than prepared. She did not underestimate him; she knew this would be a fight for her life.

Kai Leng was a fighter of immeasurable skill, he specialized in sword and hand combat, where she was more of a long distant assassin. Her skills with a Black Widow would be legendary, if people ever saw her. She was not one of those assassins that needed to leave a calling card. She had been learning hand to hand combat over the last few years, but she was nowhere near his level.

She waited until Kai Leng moved and quickly threw up a hand sabotaging his equipment, eliminating his kinetic barrier and palm weapon he liked to use. As if anticipating this, he disappeared. It would have been successful to except instead of running he chose to stay and try and kill her. She tilted her head slightly as she heard him removing his sword and raised her hand AGAIN. This time her omni tool appeared and a blast of fire emanated from its core.

Leng was not as easy though, she knew it would come to close combat. She armed her own sword as Kai Leng jumped on the table and swung a foot out at her. She moved easily out of its way and raised her sword up. A loud metal twang filled the room as the two swords met. Kai Leng looked down to her.

"Well, this is disheartening," he said. He talked too much. That was another thing she disliked about him. "I thought we were going to be good friends," And then there was this crush he seemed to have on her.

"Not today," she replied. The exchanged another series of attacks as they moved down the table. They were both winded by the time it was over.

"You sword play has improved." He said getting in her defence and landing his knee in her solar plexus. The air rushed out of her lung but she managed to roll out of the way. "Hand to hand though."

He came at her with the sword again. She had already had enough of this fight and she moved with his momentum letting him think he was making her back pedal. She quickly reached out and grabbed him and used his momentum to throw him over top of her as she fell to the ground. She stood quickly removing her pistol from its holster. When she turned to fire he had cloaked. She froze, listening but heard nothing, he was running, something he should have done to begin with.

She moved quickly to the door to pursue but The Ambassador stopped her. She looked to him confused. After all his speeches about failure he was not going to let her finish him.

"Sir?" she asked confused.

"There will be time later, Lissa. He will have his own purpose to fill," he said and smiled. "Your performance was very good, please call in the cleaner and notify these people that they are to meet me in this room tomorrow." He handed her a pad.

"Thank you, Sir," she was not convinced, leaving a threat alive was just asking for trouble. The Ambassador had already made his way out of the room. She took a second to look at the mess they had left behind. Her arm came up and her omni tool flash at her. She proceeded to call the people the Ambassador had asked her to. When she was done she left the room, closing the doors shut behind her. She looked down the hallway as people tried to go about their business pretending they did not see the blood that covered her.

"I need to wear red next time," she mumbled to herself and made her way back to the ship. Lissa barely got down the hall when her communicator went off. The Assassin paused in her movements and answered answer it.

"This is not over Lissa," it was Kai Leng. She smiled slightly; she knew it was far from over.

"No, I suppose not, any idea's on when we can pick this up again," she answered.

"You just watch your back; the moment he decides you aren't worth keeping around he'll turn on you too."

"I always watch my back."

"I do to Lissa, I do to," he said and ended the communication.


	3. Chapter 3

Notes: I'm going with the photo of Tali from the game, you really still can't see much because of the sun, but I'll go with my interpretation of it.

Chapter 3

The day had been nicer then the weather man had predicted, not that Liara ever had great faith in them. They had predicted that it would be partly cloudy but the sun shone bright in the sky with no cloud to be seen. This was Memorial Day, it was meant to be a nice day, even though she had quietly hoped it would rain so they would have to cancel. She closed her eyes as she stood by herself, letting the warm Earth Sun beat down on her. The air that was usually fresh was full of things she had never smelt before.

Not that it was bad, quiet opposite actually. Some of the scents even made her stomach growl. She had tried so many different things already, Beaver Tails, pogoes; something called a doughnut and cotton candy. She had to say that she had never experienced anything like cotton candy before and she would have to find more before the day was over.

She wished she could have shared this day with Shepard. Liara was not really sure that this was the Commanders "thing" but it still would have been nice to share it. To walk down the main drag listening to people scream as they risked their lives on wild looking rides. Maybe Shepard would have played a game or two and win her one of the funny looking stuffed dolls. She personally wanted the stuffed Garrus doll.

This was really not Cayle's scene, she was a much more of a private person. The only times Liara had really even seen her in the spot light was when some reporter put her there or when Diana Allers would do an interview on the Normandy. Even then Shepard never really looked comfortable.

Liara took a deep breath, and opened her eyes. They rested on the statue that had been erected in Cayle's honour on the first anniversary. Liara had hated it then and she still hated it now. It showed Shepard in her N7 Armour, which she only wore on special occasions. She was looking down at some invisible enemy with her pistol drawn. She hated that they would chose to remember Shepard in such an intimidating way.

Liara's memory of her was so different. Caring, compassionate, strong; she was only intimidating when she needed to be. She had never once heard Shepard yell, even when she was angry.

Liara moved to a bench and sat down beside a young girl who was throwing her food at some rather large birds. She smiled then returned her gaze to the statue.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are in the morning?" She remembered; two days before the first Normandy had been destroyed. Shepard gave her one of her wonderful lopsided grins and ran her fingers down her arms. Liara had shivered at the touch. She always loved when Cayle did that; cuddle up behind her and just run her fingers ever so softly over her skin, "Even when the sun it artificial."

Liara had laughed that morning; the future so bright and full of promise. "One day we will wake up on a beach on Earth," she sighed and turned to Shepard, kissing her lightly, "Just the two of us, in a bamboo home."

Shepard laughed. "Do you even know what Bamboo is?" She asked playfully.

"Well, no, not really," Liara confessed. "Just that it's some sort of wood that I have heard people talk about." She smiled as Shepard laughed. She loved the way Cayle laughed.

"We will wake up some morning in a Bamboo home on a beach on Earth," Shepard then stated, but grew sober and placed gently rested her forehead on Liara's.

"Cayle?"

"I don't know Liara," she said honestly. "I just can't see ahead and; I worry. I worry about you and what you would do if anything ever." She stopped and looked into Liara's eyes. "There's war coming. Sovereign was just the first, it bugs me that the council has dismissed this. If we don't prepare I don't think we will make it."

"They will prepare, they have to," Liara countered.

"I don't know; I just, I never want to hurt you or cause you pain," her fingers gently caressed the Asari's cheek.

"You won't," Liara said feeling a stir deep in her stomach, like a panic. Did Shepard know something she didn't?

Cayle obviously sensed the panic in the young Asari and smiled slightly. "I love you," She kissed her deeply. Liara thought she was going to melt right into the human as Shepard wrapped her arms around her.

Liara sighed looking away from the statue trying to relish in the memory; but it glided away as she looked around to the child feeding the birds. She would go to the beach before she left Earth.

"I don't like it either," Garrus spoke up from behind her. Liara stood and turned to him. "It's missing something."

Liara looked back to the statue. "It looks like her, somewhat."

"It's missing a certain Turrian standing with her." He said then looked to the ground. "There is no Shepard without Vikarian." He said in a soft voice.

"Or T'Soni." Liara added placing a hand on Garrus' shoulder.

"She was one of a kind Liara." Garrus said, "She never stood alone, she always had her crew."

"Except at the end," Liara said before she could stop herself. That was probably the bitterest part about everything. Both Liara and Garrus had been taken out of the rush and Shepard had continued on alone. It crushed her heart to think about it. It was quiet for a few moments.

Garrus looked around then rested his eyes on Tali and the children as she moved in a line up for a ride. Garrus simply could not see himself sitting in a little toy like Normandy and floating around in a circle. He could not bring himself to even try. The children had wanted to go and Tali made the sacrifice.

"Do you think Shepard would want this?" he asked, "Rides and fairs and carnivals; giant statues?" He looked. "Stuff dollies? I mean…" He stopped.

"I don't know Garrus; I do know that she would like the fact that they had the freedom to plan something like this," Liara answered.

"Do you," he paused as if he wasn't sure if he should continue. "Still think she is alive."

Liara looked back to the statue. "I don't think she's gone. I can't, I have tried but something deep inside just won't let me believe that. I know you all think I am crazy…"

"No, Liara, we don't. You loved her, truly loved her. I sometimes refuse to believe she is gone as well," he admitted. Liara looked to him. "She was what you'd call my best friend, as much of sister as my real sister, so." He trailed off.

"I want a Garrus stuffed dolly," Liara said finally breaking the silence that had descended. They both laughed.

"I have three," he said. "I'll have to get another, they have this shooting game and, you know, I am the king of the bottle shooters." The both laughed again.

"It's getting late," Liara said as they both made their way to the little Normandy ride. Tali was in one of the little ships with the children. As always Liara could not help but stare. She had always pictured Tali as a beautiful woman but her own image of the Quarian was nothing compared to what she actually looked like. She was like some wonderful Princess.

Tali had readily given up her suit after the Geth assisted in rebuilding the Quarians immune system. She seemed to like wearing light dresses and sandals. She looked more human than alien except some minor face markings and the three fingers and toes. She had thick brown hair and eyes that still seemed to glow. Liara had known she would be as beautiful outside as she was inside.

The Asari leaned against the white fence that went around the ride. "They expect us in the VIP area for the ceremonies. I don't really feel like a VIP."

"Me either, this is all more important to Tali than it is me," he admitted, waving a hand at the children. "She wants to make sure they know everything they can about Shepard."

Liara thought of the time Shepard had told that she wanted lots of little blue children. She could not help but feel slightly jealous of Tali for a second. She smiled and stood up.

"I'm going to head to the ceremony. I will meet you there," Liara took a slow deep breath to stop the tears from collecting in her eyes.

They were separate from the Normandy crew. Liara, Tali and Garrus sat together with Samara and Grunt somewhere mixed in. Liara really did not know them and had not looked for them. All the humans that had worked with Shepard, including Ashley, James, Samantha and Joker were on the other side of the stage. EDI was with Joker. Zaeed had had not come and if Kasumi was here, she was not showing herself. Wrex had not made the trip either.

Miranda was on Cronos base working with the ex-Cerberus scientist and Jack was sitting in the crowd with her students. Liara had originally disliked Jack, but she had been keeping an eye on the young biotic. Jack still had her tattoos and still swore worse than a Krogan, but she had flourished as a teacher. Her hair had grown out, not for the first time; she liked to play with it. She still dressed in clothing that really covered very little. But, overtime she had become reliable and honourable and even respectable. Not that she liked to be called that. Liara admired how much she had grown.

Jack had been devastated when she had found out Shepard was dead. Her reaction had been surprising to Liara; Jack had always given Shepard such a hard time. What Liara had not realized was how much Jack respected and loved Shepard. Jack had even confessed to her once that she owed Shepard everything; that she would never have changed, had the Commander not taken time, or interest, in her.

Shepard had impacted so many people.

"Looks like Ashley is going to make a speech today," Tali said.

"Well, she learned to make them from one of the best," Garrus added. Liara grimaced slightly. Ashley would talk about loyalty and trust and honour but she had failed to give Shepard any of that when Cayle had used Cerberus to get to the collectors. Liara smiled in spite of this though, but mostly thinking of the speeches Shepard liked to give. How Shepard would walk and used her hands more than normal. It was always very cute.

"There are a lot of people here." Liara said looking about the crowd. She spotted Primarch Victus sitting with the council and the other delegates close by, including the Salarian Dalatrass Linron. Liara was surprised she was here. She had openly disagreed with Shepard curing the genophage, to the point that she asked the Commander to sabotage it or they would not send aid during the Reaper invasion. A promise she kept when Shepard had refused to comply.

"Shepard impacted on many people, in one way or form," Tali said with a smile.

"She certainly was not known for being subtle," Garrus agreed. He smiled. "I remember her charging in and shooting her way through Nassana Dantius' tower. She made it a war zone. She never even thought about being subtle." He laughed at the memory. One always knew when Shepard was coming. "It's hard to believe that she was once an infiltrator. I heard James call her a bull in a china shop during a mission. It did not take me long to figure out the meaning of that one."

Liara smiled, you always knew where Shepard was, her crew would say, just follow the smoke. It was hard to believe at times that Shepard had started out as a sniper, sneaking around in the distance and striking without warning. She had ever done that as a Commander, she had been forced more into working in a squad.

"Speaking of Ashley," Tali started and looked at Liara. "I ran into her earlier and she was looking for you, Liara."

"Me?" She looked over to where the Lt. Commander sat wondering what she would want. They never spoke after the Normandy had returned to Earth, they had never even said good bye. "Well, I guess we will see after this is over."

The crowd seemed to hush as Admiral Hackett made his way to the podium. They were in front of the Alliance Headquarters in Vancouver and even its tower seemed to shrink behind him. She was always nervous in his presence, like a child viewing their hero for the first time. He commanded respect just by his mere presence. Liara had always known that one day Shepard would be able to do the same.

He was about to start talking when Liara noticed the Salarian Dalatrass suddenly slump over. She made no sound simply parted her lips slightly and slumped over in her chair. Has she slipped to the ground Liara could not help but see the explosion out of the back of the Salarians head? She stood in one spot stunned for a few moments as others realized what had happened. Someone started screamed, then the running started.

"By the Goddess," Liara breathed lowly. This was certainly unexpected.

While everyone was running away Garrus made his way to the Dalatrass, Liara followed. Tali was gathering the children and pulling them away.

"It has to be a sniper," Garrus was sating looking to where the Dalatrass had been sitting and trying to judge from where the bullet had entered. Garrus had once been a sniper as well, the best if you asked him.

"But we are not at war with anyone," Liara said. This probably meant Cerberus. This was something they would pull.

Garrus was not listening; he was doing his own calculations. He turned and looked into the distance. "It came from that direction," he said and continued his calculations and looked up to a building that seemed impossibly far away. "There," he said pointing.

"Impossible that is over three kilometers away." Liara said.

"I could do it, with the right equipment," Garrus replied. He looked to Liara for a few seconds.

"What."

"There's only one other person I know of who could make a shot like that."

"No," Liara said with finality. It was impossible in one way and unthinkable in so many others. She began to move, at first walking fast then running. She thought of running to a taxi but that would be to slow, instead she grabbed the closest hover car she could find.

"Liara," Garrus called, following as she got in. "You know this is theft?"

"Are you coming?" She said as she used her Omi tool to start the vehicle. He looked around to the crowd, unable to see Tali and the children. He sighed and got into the car.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," He said closing the door. "I just need to let Tali know what I'm doing."

Three kilometers had never taken so long and as they approached the tall business building they noted that the roof was empty. Liara brought the hover car to a steep descent and a not so glamorous landing. She really didn't care that it violated several driving and parking codes. They had not seen a car leave the roof of the building which meant whomever made the shot had to leave by foot. It would have taken them an equal amount of time to get to the main floor, or at least she was hoping.

Garrus was still saying good bye to Tali as the hover car slammed down. Liara was exiting the before it was even stationary.

So many things were going through her mind at once. This was a bold move for Cerberus. Humans had a slight dislike for Salarians since the war, but this was a diplomatic nightmare. The peace between the two races was tedious at best. The Salarian would never act out against the Humans though; the Krogans would join the humans if they did. That was a force the Salarians did not want to get involved with and Humans were the only ones keeping the Krogans at bay.

Still, this was an incident that would have major repercussions. Perhaps that was what Cerberus wanted. Maybe they wanted to see just what the Salarians would do. Perhaps this was just the beginning of something even worse. Liara did not know. For all of her power as the Shadow Broker, she had not seen this coming.

She thought of what Garrus had talked about. He and Shepard were perhaps the two best shot in the galaxy, which were known. That did not mean that others could not have made the shot, but it made Liara's stomach churn at the thought. Could it be Shepard, Liara shook the thought out of her head.

"Liara, slow down," Garrus called, running to catch up with her. "Whoever took that shot will be armed, we are not."

"We are." Liara counter and made a fist, waves of blue smoke filled the air. "Whoever made that shot won't rely on you figuring things out. They won't think anyone is coming for them and they won't rush. They would not want to bring attention to themselves. I think that was the reason they did not have a hover car on the roof. People would have been looking for that."

"There are several exits from that building," Garrus said bring up the schematics on his omni tool. He looked quickly. "The laneway, it has an emergency exit, and an emergency elevator." He typed in a few more things. "It has no security and the least amount of cameras. I would take that route."

They moved into the laneway together, both spotting the land bike together. "Escape vehicle, small and fast," Liara whispered, perhaps they were not too late.

"We should call for back up," Garrus said.

Liara was about to reply when the door opened. She and Garrus both froze, more from anticipation than anything else. Liara was not sure what to expect. For a second or expected Shepard to stroll out and asked her how she has been.

In the short time it took the door to open and someone to step out Liara's heart rate had increased to the point where she could almost hear it in her head. She remained frozen as a young kid in a chef's outfit stepped out with a cigarette between his lips. He stopped and looked to them, his gaze solid on Liara's hand which was balled into a fist with blue wisps crackling around it. The cigarette fell to the ground.

"I didn't do anything," he said as the door opened again.

This time a woman stepped out. Liara's heart rate would have increased if it could have. The first thing she noted was the suit the woman was wearing. Loose but form fitting black pants with a green and blue short sleeved blouse. Before her eyes went anywhere else she could envision this woman being Shepard. They were about the same height and weight. However instead of long black hair tied into a ponytail this woman had short but straight blonde hair. Shepard had steely baby blue eyes while the woman had intense green eyes. Three scars ran down the woman's right cheek to her ear, almost unnoticeable. It was as if some cat had scratched her. A much deeper scar lined her neck.

She was carrying a black briefcase that, no doubt carried her gun. There was only a quick flash of confusion in the woman's eyes before she threw up her free hand and a blast of fire right in front of Garrus' face. She followed up quickly by striking Liara with the brief case, causing the Asari to fall to the ground. The kid in the Chef's outfit scrambled for a hiding spot. She placed the case in a holder on the land bike and pulled out a pistol as she mounted the bike. She paused for a second, almost as if to allow the Asari to get her barricade up before fire at them. She started the bike as she did so.

After the thermal clip ejected the unknown woman holstered the weapon and set the bike into motion. She took only a brief glimpse back, her eyes resting on Liara, before turning and disappearing from their sights.


	4. Chapter 4

The room was dark, save for the outlines of the furniture. The moon had just enough light that the room looked spookier then it should. She lay on the couch with her small head resting on her mother's lap. Images were fuzzy and all she knew was she was terrified for some reason. Her heart beat was fast and she could almost hear it as she breathed slowly, he eyes darted about the room.

"Baby mine dry your eyes." It was her mother. She used to sing that to her whenever she was upset. Her mother used to sing to her all the time, but she remembered this song the most. "Rest your head close to my heart, never to part. Baby of mine"

For some reason this song was not allowed to finish. It was never allowed to finish. She could feel her mother's fingers moving gently through her hair. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her heart. She was safe, wasn't she? Her mother was there, she would keep her safe. There was no reason to be scared.

"Little one when you play, pay no heed what they say." The song continued but her heart beat continued to pound through her ears. The song never ends, why does the song never finish? She was frozen to the spot, afraid that if she moved something bad would happen and it would be her fault. "Let your eyes sparkle and shine, never a tear."

"Baby of mine." Now panic was starting to settle in and she gripped her mother's leg tighter. She wanted to scream and tell her mother to stop singing, that the song never ended and that scared her. She wanted her mother to stop the song on her terms, not on the fear that it will end some other way because of something else. She opened her moth and she could feel the air coming out, but it made no sound. She was crying now, unable to move either.

"If they knew all about you, they'd end up loving you too." Now she was beyond being consoled, unable to move or scream; her eyes wide open in terror as she could see the shadow of feet at the door to their apartment. Her tears were pooling on her mother's thigh, soaking her pants. She could hear them talking. Her mother sang on, calmly as if nothing was happening. "All those same people that scold you. What they'd give just to hold you."

The door opened with a bang, slamming into the wall behind it. Her mother still did not move. There was another loud bang and she was deaf. She closed her eyes as she was thrown to the floor, curling into a ball and covering her ears with her hands. She could feel them there, they were doing bad things. She could feel floor beneath her was sticky and wet. She opened her eyes once but all she could see was red.

She lay there for what seemed like forever before she got the courage to uncurl herself. The room was dark, save for the outlines of the furniture. The moon had just enough light to reveal the destroyed room. Everything was smashed and broken and she was still soaking wet. It smelt horrible now as well, slightly metallic. She turned around slowly now sitting.

"Baby of mine." She heard her mother gasp. She turned to her now and tried to scream again, but no sound came. The song never ended and now she remembered why.

Lissa jerked awake, unaware that she had actually fallen asleep. She still lay on the roof top waiting and watching. She had been here for the better part of a day. Usually she had a partner that would keep her awake and sane. The Ambassador had ordered her to kill her partner and she had no idea of where Kai Leng was now. Not that she liked him anyway; all he ever did was talk about himself. At least it kept her awake and only day dreaming of the many ways she could kill him.

Lissa took a long drink of cold water and placed the container back into her throw away bag. She never left anything behind when she had a job like this. There was a blanket underneath her that left with her. She only ate paste, but the containers went back into her bag to be disposed of somewhere else that would not be a crime scene.

She had spent a week working on this assignment. It had taken The Ambassador a bit to get the location of where the target would be sitting. Then she had come to Earth and began her calculations as well as panning her escape route. She had watched them set up this little anniversary carnival and knew every little route through it. She knew the layout of the building where she was now perched. She had already hacked into the security system and looped in the feed from a couple days ago. The camera's would pick up nothing.

Now she just had to wait and without a partner that was proving difficult. She killed time by watching those below. The park was filling up quit quickly. The early birds all lining up to avoid the long line up. She chuckled to herself over the irony of that. She imagined that the family that was first in line were probably pretty proud of themselves. They had shown up at one in the morning, setting up pup tents and making a family outing of it.

It was going to be a special day, all the big fucking heroes were going to be there; all but the biggest anyway. Not that Shepard needed to be there, they had this big crazy statue dedication of her in the middle of the park.

She knew the list of Delegates' because she needed to know the list. Not that she was worried; the only two on the list that could possibly be able to figure out what was going to happened were Commander Williams and Garrus Vikarrian. Williams would be escorted out quite quickly but security and Garrus, well; he's been domesticated for a few years now.

The family she had been watching over the morning had been interesting. She guessed that the mother was into security or maybe part of the alliance, she was in better shape than the average business person or stay at home mother. Although she was relaxed she still had this habit of looking everywhere and knowing her surroundings. That was a habit that was not formed from taking children to sport events and sewing rips in clothing. Nor was that developed in a board room, although; watching one's back was advised in the business room.

The father was easier, obviously a teacher or counsellor. He was always talking to the children, making sure they had what they needed, finding out if they wanted anything. He was the provider and the mother was the protector.

She had stopped watching them when the park opened and the rush began. Everyone wanted to see everything at the same time.

She continued to watch though, other people, some in the park some not in the park. She had already witnessed three muggings and had a clear view to the slums of Vancouver as well. She watched there as well. She had not grown up in the slums of Vancouver, but the slums of Toronto had been no better. Now both had gotten worse. There were so many children orphaned since the war. Gangs were even more rampant then they had ever been. Not only that but they had not even begun reconstruction on most of the slums.

There was a wall being constructed around these slums and this angered her. People in the "good" parts of town were already completely oblivious to the suffering and pain of those in the slums. This would make it even worse. What they needed to do was to go in and deal with the problem. Get those children a decent home. Some sort of home and food and comfort, they were as much as the future as the spoiled children that had line up all morning for the ceremony.

Had humanity even been worth saving?

Would the almighty Shepard be happy with how humanity was coming along after she had made the ultimate sacrifice? She knew she would have not been had the roles been reversed. Humanity had not really changed; it was just learning to hide its problems better.

This was the main reason Lissa had chosen Cerberus over the Alliance.

She certainly had never agreed with The Illusive Man and his ramblings. She had watched as he went from humanities watch dog to Reaper lap dog. At one point he might have been a genius and no one would ever argue about some of his success, but he had not been able to draw the line. She had not liked the "volunteer" army he had controlled. As far as she was concerned it was an abomination.

The Ambassador was only slightly better. There were still experiments but the volunteers always knew what they were getting into, that death was possibility but there was always compensation. If they died the money always went to where the subject wanted it to go; his wife or children, mother or father, someone was always able to get out of the slums. There was never a shortage of volunteers.

She was not deluded though, she knew Cerberus was far from perfect. The Ambassador himself was racist. He hated the other Alien races and was convinced they did nothing but try and keep humanity under their rules. He had thought, for a while, after the war that things would change. Earth and humanity had played such a large role in saving the Universe that things would change.

The council had survived though and only grown stronger. Yes Humanity had a representative on the council but they were still treated as if they were children. The Ambassador was convinced that if something was not done, they would always be perceived as children.

She often disagreed with The Ambassador but he had earned her respect a long time ago. He had rescued her from a life that meant nothing and made her what she was. It was something she would not forget, especially when she was doing something she didn't like or want to do. It was part of her motivation, to make him proud of her. He was the only one she cared for.

She rubbed her eyes and bent over the scope once again, this time looking over the park. It was pretty full and she watched as people got on some of the rides and screamed as they were thrown all over the place. She smiled slightly as she watched some young boy get off a roller coaster and throw up into a garbage pail.

It was quite a gathering, humans were walking side by side with aliens and it was an overall sense of happiness. She herself had no problems with Aliens. She had known a few and they seemed ok. She did not share her mentors hate for them.

She continued to scan the park. It was getting close to time for her to do her job. The actual ceremony would start soon. She panned over the statue and thought it was a terrible replica of the woman it was supposed to represent. She wasn't sure why she felt this, she had never known Shepard, but she hated it none the less.

Her scope landed on a young Asari sitting on a bench close to the statue watching a child feed the seagulls. Something about this woman struck a chord in her and she wasn't sure why. Yes; the Asari were a beautiful and graceful race but she had never really been drawn to them, but this woman held her fascination and her scope refused to move.

The Asari was alone, which was odd, they were such sociable people; she never really just saw them sitting alone like that. And she looked so sad that for a second Lissa felt a strange pull to go and comfort the woman. She pulled away from the scope and shook her head. But it was only a minute later until she was watching the woman again. She suddenly realized who it was. Liara T'Soni; Shadow Broker, scientist and Shepard's lover, no wonder she looked alone and sad.

She still had that strange pull to go and comfort the Asari and she couldn't make it go away. It was starting to bother her.

She watched as the beautiful woman was joined by a Turian, Garrus Vikarrian, she could tell by the scars on his mandibles. They moved off to one of the rides and Lissa moved her scope away to the podium and then to where the target was going to be sitting. It was time to do her final calculations.

Lissa was a solider and had never been interested in any kind of a relationship. She had one night stands on occasion, usually when thing were stressful and she needed a release, but they never meant anything. She had never admired anyone or even thought of feeling for another person. This pull she suddenly felt for the Asari was already driving her insane.

She made minor adjustments as the seats for the ceremony were being full. It was a variable whose who and she could have made a hell of a mess of she wanted to. She had one target though and she would stick to her mission parameters.

As they set up she noted that her target was actually quite close to T'Soni. All she had to do was pull the scope back slightly and she would be able to watch the Asari as well. She sighed.

"Get over it." She mumbled to herself and focused in on the Salarian Dalatrass. That was her target and The Ambassador wanted her to wait until there was silence, when Hackett was on the stage.

The Dalatrass had stopped the Salarians from helping in the war. A lot of the STG had decided to join anyways, but she had kept the main Salarian forces from joining. Since the war she had been more than vocal about humanity being galactic bullies. Needless to say the relationship between the Salarians and the humans was tedious at best.

She waited while the chairs finished filling. It still took a long time for things to get started. The whole ceremony would be opened by Admiral Hackett. Lissa admired the man. Yes he was her enemy but the authority his mere presence commanded was impressive.

He wasn't even announced and people grew quite to watch him walk to the podium. She watched the affair on her omi tool while her scope was rested firmly on the Dalatrass. She had already calculated the shot as close as she could. Now that Hackett was on the stage it was time.

Her scope took the last calculations of the wind from the top of this building right down to where the Salarian sat, the air density, all the other calculations were already set. She gently nuzzled herself against the rifle as if it was a lover. When her finger wrapped around the trigger the gun became an extension of her arm.

The Dalatrass was sitting in her chair watching the Admiral on the stage. He rifle had the target painted firmly between her eyes and ever so slightly above. She inhaled slowly and held her breath for only a second before taking the shot. She knew it was perfect even before the Salarian slumped down in her chair.

"Mission accomplished." She stated into her communicator. She watched for a few seconds as the realization set in to those around the Salarian and even though she could not hear the screaming, she imagined it.

She nodded slightly then moved to the kneeling position. She began to dismantle her rifle and put it away in her case. It took her slightly under five minutes to clean up an area. It would take most people much longer than that to figure out where the shot had come from. Even then getting to the Dalatrass in the confusion would take time as well. When she had everything packed up she took a spray bottle and sprayed the area in bleach. That would take care of any trace evidence she might have left behind.

She left the roof top and made her way to the emergency elevator. She could already hear the reports of the assassination on the extranet. It was amazing at how quick the news got out. The speculations were all over the place. It was still unknown what had happened just that someone had been shot and that there was mass confusion.

The elevator was slow and she subconsciously tapped her foot against the floor. They were talking now that it was possibly one of the Alien representatives that were killed and that Hackett had been taken to safety. She smiled to herself. He had never been in danger.

She turned off her access to the extra net as she stepped off the elevator and made her way to the emergency door. Her land bike waited for her on the other side of the door. It would take her to the shuttle and she would finally get off this horrible planet. She hated Earth for what it failed to become.

She opened the door and stepped out into the ally only to come face to face with Turian and Asari she had been watching. She reacted quickly and shot out her omi tool and let loose an incinerate in front of Vikarrian, enough to keep him off balanced for the time she needed to escape. She swung her briefcase at T'Soni, knocking her to the ground. She immediately felt guilty but took the time to place the briefcase on the bike and get on it herself.

She pulled out her pistol and aimed it at T'Soni, giving her enough time to get her barricade off before shooting. She started up the bike and as soon as her heat sink ejected she gunned the motor, taking off down the alley. She took a brief second to look back to make sure that T'Soni had not been hurt before she turned the corner and got out of the area as quickly as possible.


	5. Chapter 5

OOC Another chapter that really went in a direction I was not expecting. Was never really going to use Ashley but she kinda forced her way in.

They had allowed Liara into the meeting. After all these years she was still considered part of the team; also known as Shepard's team. Most of them had moved on to other things. The Normandy was never the same without her. Oh Ashley tried, but she was definitely not Shepard. Cayle had always had an open mind, Ashley not so much. Shepard had embraced Aliens and AI's alike, Ashley had never shared the same view.

Most of Shepard's team were gone, the Aliens had all returned home. James was now part of the N7, Jack a teacher, Sam off building another Normandy SR-2, rumoured to be called The Shepard. Edi and Joker were all that remained on the Normandy and neither of them would ever leave. Some of the others were still there, Engineer Adams, Chakwas, they were more loyal to the Normandy itself then the Alliance.

Shepard had told her once that nothing ever stayed the same. Liara had been able to deal with that, she could have faced any change, as long as Shepard had remained with her. Now she found it challenging. She hated the fact that Ashley had the Normandy. She would have much rather seen James get it. He had always had Cayle's back.

"Do we have any idea of why Cerberus would pick now to show that they are still around?" Admiral Hackett asked looking down to the Dalatrass' body. "I mean, I can see why she is a target but why now and why such a show of it?"

"Cerberus has been in a political storm since the death of The Illusive man." Liara reported. "It was particularly hard to follow given the fact that there are several different factions and most do not even know about each other. I would suspect that someone has finally taken charge. I would even guess that this was a message to us. Cerberus is back."

"With what goals though?" Hackett asked rubbing his forehead. "The Illusive man was bad but at least we knew where he was coming from. The devil you know. We need to get information." He looked directly at Liara.

"I have everyone working on it Admiral." She paused and looked to Ashley who had been standing silently in the back of the room. "I have heard rumours that an Eclipse base had been attacked on Therum in the Artemus Tau system." She looked at nothing in particular; Therum was where she had first met Shepard. "My sources say it was probably Cerberus."

"I personally do not find a Cerberus, Eclipse war a problem; I'd be fine if they killed each other." Ashley said. She was also always so much more blunt then Shepard.

"I agree." Liara said, "But I'm thinking that the Eclipse must have had something Cerberus wanted. Whatever was in that base was being guarded. My sources said that a team of Asari scientist had been brought in and that they were not allowed to have any contact with the Eclipse troops. Only the highest ranking Eclipse officers were even allowed near the inside of the base."

"Well that's something." Hackett agreed. He crossed his arms over his chest and lifted a hand to rub the stubble that was starting to form over his chin. "Williams, I think you should take the Normandy and look into this." He said. Liara looked to the woman.

"Aye sir." She said sharply. She was a soldier and obeying orders was her specialty. The problem was Ashley had what Shepard called a box, and Ashley had no idea of how to think outside of it. Not that Ashley was a bad officer or Spectre, she was just an Alliance soldier and to her, the Alliance would always come first. Liara had never believed she was Spectre material. Shepard had thought it would round Ashley off into a good officer. It had not worked thus far. Liara doubted it ever would.

"Liara," Hackett turned to her and her eyes widened.

"Yes sir?" She held her breath, expecting him to ask her to go.

"Tell me about this woman you and Garrus ran into."

She let out the breath. "Well, that was a hell of a shot she took, according to Garrus anyway. From what I understand, very few people can do that, Geth excluded. Garrus and Ashley," She paused adding Shepard to that list in her head. "Garrus said one other Turrian that he knew of, but he was injured badly in the war. She rubbed her own temple.

"She was quick and strong." Liara continued. "And I think had she wanted Garrus and I dead we would have been. She had the drop on us."

"I wonder if she was enhanced like Kai Leng." Ashley asked. Unlike Liara, Ashley had never faced Kai Leng.

"I don't think so, I mean the Nemeses were all so enhanced but they did not retain much of their own features. Partially husk like, like the troops." Liara explained. "This woman was human."

"I wonder if she was trained by Cerberus or us." Hackett voiced. "I will have to look into who we have that can make a shot like that."

It was quiet for a long moment as all three of them stared at the body. Liara could not get the Cerberus woman out of her head. It was an image permanently engrained in there now. The woman could have killed them and no one would have known who she was, but she had waited. She had allowed Liara to get her barrier up before shooting at them. She was more than aware she should be dead.

"Liara?" Liara shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Ashley had obviously asked her something that she had missed completely.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"We still have room on the Normandy if you want to come as well and find out what is going on." Ashley said and looked to Hackett. Obviously the invitation was his idea. She needed to go; she needed to know who this woman was and what Cerberus was up to. She just didn't want to go on the Normandy with Shepard being gone. She did not want to see the memorial wall with Shepard's name on it.

"It would take a while to set myself up on the Normandy again. I have a ship that is ready to go. It just doesn't have a stealth drive and its weapons are kind of basic." She said. Hackett and Williams exchanged looks.

"Well we could meet you there." Ashley said and smiled thinly. Liara's brush off obviously bothered her. Liara paused for a second; Shepard had forgiven the Alliance Officer and welcomed her back with open arms. Liara could not figure out why she had never been able to do the same.

No, she knew why. She was not Shepard; no one was, nor would they ever be. One of a kind was a term that was made because of people like her. She was a leader of people; anyone Shepard ever touched would follow her into hell. Anyone, except for Ashley Williams who had once declared her a traitor.

"Sounds like a plan. I will meet you there." Liara said tersely letting her anger get the better of her. She moved to the door and then stopped. She told herself she should apologize and she looked back for a second. "It will be interesting to work together again." She said instead before leaving.

* * *

Shepard had always known exactly what Liara liked. It was like magic, every touch, every caress; it sent magical surges through her body. She had remembered her mother once explaining that sex was a need for other races. That Asari reproduction was not about sex. Benezia was correct sex had nothing to do with reproduction but it was certainly not just a need for other races. It was a form of showing each other just how much you loved each other and it was an act of giving and an act of love and Liara embraced it.

She could feel Shepard touching her, her breath on the back of her neck as she pressed herself against her. Liara was always amazed at how gentle the warrior could be, gentle but intense. Liara never needed a meld to know how much Shepard loved her, it was in every breath, every touch of her fingers, every kiss. It was sometimes overwhelming to the point where Liara could not even control herself. When they melded during this process Liara truly felt a part of her lover.

Liara counted on her dreams to sometimes bring Shepard back to her. Like now, moaning softly at the soft little bites at the back of her neck, Shepard's hands moving to all the right places. Liara could barely contain herself. She smiled, knowing she was dreaming, and welcoming it.

"Embrace eternity." She moaned softly against the pillow, melding with the woman behind her, however she stopped instantly as she realized something was not right. She pulled away quickly and turned. The Cerberus woman smiled back to her. Liara could not help but think how she was strikingly similar to Shepard she was.

"I guess I'm not the eternity you expected." The woman said in Shepard voice. She grabbed Liara and pinned her down. "Embrace me anyway." She demanded.

Liara jerked herself awake, jumping out of her bed and pressing her back against the wall. Her room was dark with save for the light from the stars allowing her eyes to adjust enough to see outlines. She was alone. Her heart raced and beat loudly as she closed her eyes and tried to push the dream out of her thoughts.

She found herself becoming angry that this unknown woman had invaded a place that was only meant for one person.

She stretched and moved over to one of the many consoles in her room. Each was full of information that she would move slowly through. She had created a program that sorted most of the information out based on key words and right now Cerberus was her main concern. However; as she sat down another area of concern popped up on her.

Kai Leng.

Kai Leng had somehow disappeared from Cronos base before the Alliance had managed to completely secure it. In their defence they had other concerns, like the Citadel and Earth and the Reapers. When the Alliance returned, led by Miranda, Kai Leng was simply gone. As was the Nemeses army Kai Leng liked to align himself with. Liara had though he was dead after the blow that Shepard had given him. Any normal person would have been, but then, Kai Leng was not normal.

She brought it up on her screen and read over the news. Javik had been trying to locate him with little to no results. He had found many bodies left with the assassin signature attached to them but never a lead to where the man himself was. Javik was trying his hardest, but he was hardly the most inconspicuous person in the universe. He was after all the only Prothean left and everyone knew who he was. Most figured he was helping the Alliance, few knew who he was truly working for.

Because of this Liara had been forced to find someone else to shadow Javik, get the information he could not because of who he was. She had wanted to hire Jacob Taylor, because she truly trusted him, but he was settled down now with a lovely wife and two children. She did not want to put him in danger. Instead she turned to man named Mouse, who came highly recommended by Shepard's friend Commander Bailey. He worked with Thane Krios son, Koylat and they were two of her better agents.

The message came from Mouse. He had heard rumours of Kai Leng leaving Cerberus and striking out as a free agent. Liara could not help but be surprised; he had been pretty loyal to Cerberus. She could not help but think that Cerberus had probably terminated the relationship. They were going to try and set up a trap for him. She thought about this for a long time. Koylat and Mouse were good at getting information but they were not really a match for the seasoned assassin. Javik however…

She would need to get them working together after this trip to Therum.

Her eyes rested on the picture of Cayle she had on her desk. It sat between Shepard's helmet from the first Normandy crash and her dog tags. Liara's own, personal little Shepard memorial, or it would be if she believes Shepard was dead.

She had met Shepard on Therum. The stalwart Alliance officer had rescued her from a trap Liara had accidentally sprung on herself. Well, not a trap really, it was supposed to protect her from the Geth troops her mother had sent after her. It had done so, but she had managed to get herself stuck in stasis.

She would never forget the slight smile Shepard had on her face when she had explained that to her that day. Liara had not found it nearly as amusing as the Spectre.

She remembered what a presence Shepard was the first time she had laid eyes on her, so confident and sure of herself, yet understanding and kind at the same time. Liara often thought she had fallen in love with her then. Then they mind melded for the first time and although she mainly searched for the Prothean data she had touched a part of Shepard. Nothing she could, even now, put a finger on, but it was strong and powerful and alluring all at the same time. She had been addicted immediately.

She shook her head and sent a message back to Koylat telling him to hold off for now and that she would get back to him soon.

=^=Liara we are at Therum, the Alliance has not yet arrived. =^= came Falere's voice.

"Thank you." Liara responded and looked out the view port to the planet below. She wasn't really sure she was ready to go down to the planet's surface. She moved out of her room through a room covered in monitors. She paused at a group of them and scanned for any signals. There were several and she focused in on the Eclipse base, nothing but static came from them. Someone had made sure to eliminate their trail. Sort of like the building the blonde woman had been on. Someone had tampered with the camera's there, feeding them the footage from the day prior.

The blonde woman was certainly efficient.

She walked to the bridge of the ship, her hand clenching and unclenching, she disliked this woman who was starting to invade her life of several levels.

"I have scanned the Eclipse base and I am not getting any reading from it at all." Falere reported. Liara could not help but go over her readings then concur. She was about to send a report to Williams when the Normandy came out of FTL beside them. Liara could only stare at its hull; it was truly an impressive sight. She felt tears sting her eyes as a flood of memory and pain hit her all at once. Falere took her hand and squeezed it. Liara smiled sadly back.

"Send the Normandy your readings and tell them I will meet them on the planet." She turned back and headed to her room to don the armour she had not worn in five years.

* * *

Liara had made several adjustments to her armour while she was putting it on. She had been worried that it would not fit her but instead found it slightly too big. As Falere helped her adjust the straps she gave her a stern lecture about her poor eating habits. Liara would have stopped her if she didn't deserve it. In her own defence, she never thought she would be putting it on again.

When they were done she stopped long enough to look in the mirror. She smiled slightly thinking of the many adventures she had in this armour. She had gone everywhere with Shepard. She thought of the Eden Prime and Ilium and oh so many other places. As she looked in the mirror she envisioned Shepard standing behind her, pushing some imaginary dust off her shoulder.

"You still look good in it Blue." Cayle said with her mischievous smile, using her pet name.

"Yeah, like a little girl in her mother's armour. I have lost weight." She considered for only a second, of how wrong it was to talk to an imaginary Shepard, but she didn't really care.

"Yeah, you really need to start taking better care of yourself." Shepard said. "If I am alive, I don't want to come home to a sick girl."

Liara smiled to herself and moved to her weapons locker and picked out her gun. She eyed Shepard's black widow and scorpion. The Scorpion had not been the most practical weapon but Shepard seemed to have a soft spot for it. That or, as she would say, she liked the explosions. Shepard never really got close enough in a fight anyway. She preferred to shoot from a distance.

Like the blonde Cerberus assassin.

Liara shook her head and moved to the back of the ship. Unlike the Normandy her ship could land, but in this case it would get her close enough to drop. She stood as the cargo bay doors opened and spotted the Alliance shuttle touching down. She jumped out of the cargo bay and landed on the ground. She made her way over to Ashley and her team.

"Hello Liara, it has been a long time." Came EDI's voice in her head set. Again Liara was filled with emotion. EDI might have been an AI but she had 'grown' up under Shepard's tutelage. She shook it off with Ashley looking at her.

"Hello EDI and I imagine Jeff is with you as well."

"Never too far away." Came Jokers voice. Liara had never called him by his nickname though. Jeff had been the one person that had followed Shepard everywhere. He had prided himself on always being able to fly her away from harm. When he had not been able to save her from the Citadel Jeff had been devastated, then EDI had gone off line and for a little while Liara had not been sure Jeff was going to be able to bounce back. It wasn't until Tali restarted the AI that Joker had returned to his former self. Even then the memory left its own huge scar.

Liara smiled and looked to Ashley. "I am ready." She said a turned back to the entrance of the Eclipse base. I looked a lot like the Prothean archives on Mars, with the entrance going into the side of a Mountain then several smaller building down in a bit of a steep crater.

The Alliance troops entered first, led by Ashley. It was strange for Liara to be at the back of the group. She had always been up front with Shepard. She had more experience than most of the young soldier that were in front of her. It was Ashley though, and she was never a big supporter of Aliens.

As they moved into the base Liara noted the weapon scaring and blood on the ground. Some of the bodies had been moved. Cerberus was not one to really care about their dead.

They moved in further and the carnage started. It had been a vicious fight, both parties were powerhouses. She stopped as the military team moved on. She removed the helmet of one of the Cerberus soldiers. He was human, not the half husk zombies the Illusive man had created.

"These are normal soldiers." Liara reported.

"Maybe whoever is now running Cerberus doesn't believe in the same things as the Illusive man." Ashley said as they moved along. It became obvious that they were not going to find any survivors.

"Well, the Illusive Man was Cerberus. We always thought that Cerberus would fall with his death, but that was obviously incorrect. Maybe we did not know as much about the organization as we thought we did. Maybe the Illusive man was just one part of it."

"I don't know the man had a lot of power. He was making armies. He was the man behind all the experiments we shut down on the first Normandy." Ashley said checking a second Cerberus soldier.

"He was making mindless zombies. I don't imagine everyone in Cerberus, or their investors would be happy with that. Maybe it's an off shoot of Cerberus." Liara surmised.

Ashley stopped as they finally reached the laboratories. They had been completely trashed. Liara grunted in disapproval.

"So you mean maybe we are dealing with good racist scum?" Ashley replied with a smile. Liara could not help but smile back, especially when Ashley was partially racist herself.

"Yeah, something like that." Liara moved into what seemed to be the main office and turned on one of the computers. It crackled and made a loud protest but flashed an image of a large empty room.

"I wonder what was in that." Ashley asked over her shoulder.

"It appears empty now." Liara stated the obvious. "What could the Eclipse have that Cerberus wanted?"

"I would like to say Reaper Tech, but that's not hard to come by anymore." Ashley said and motioned for her men to go and check it out. Liara continued to work on the computer. All paths to the main drive were destroyed.

"We are going to have to find the central computer core and see if we can get information from it. This computer is destroyed and I cannot access it."

"Secure this room." Ashley ordered her officers and she and Liara moved on. For the first minute it was silent. There were several moments when it seemed as though Ashley wanted to say something but did not. Liara was happy with that; she did not want a heart to heart with the Officer.

The found the big room that had been shown on the monitor. What the monitor failed to show was the just how big the room was. It was almost the size of a station.

"Wow." Liara stated and looked up. There was a large port on the ceiling. Whatever had been in here came and went by the port. "That kind of worries me."

"There must have been something huge in here." Ashley concurred.

"Maybe they had a reaper."

"We could only hope it's something that simple." Ashley moved back into the hallway. Liara followed and they continued until they found the computer core room.

"Goddess." Liara stated at the black and charred room. Someone had set off explosives. "This could be problematic." She began to dig about the destroyed room in hoped that something was still intact.

"No one said Cerberus was not thorough." Ashley said and helped Liara.

They dug for about a half hour when Liara suddenly smiled and pulled out a small box. She carefully opened it. "They missed one." She said triumphantly.

"Thank god." Ashley said and moved over to where the Asari was kneeling. Her white and grey armour was nearly black with soot. "Can you get anything off of it?"

"I would have to take it back to my ship and analyse it." Liara stood. Ashley was looking at her. "I have the means to figure out what is on this. I can crack it and send all the information to you."

"This is an Alliance operation." Ashley stated.

"Yes, and they have asked for my help and if you want my help this data will come back to my ship and when I am finished cracking it I will send the Alliance a full report."

"If the information goes to your ship, then I go to your ship." Ashley crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. Liara looked at her for a long time.

"Then you might want to go and get into something comfortable because this might take me a long time." Liara crossed her own arms over her chest as the two women faced off.

"Fine." Ashley said and turned and made her way out of the room.

"Fine." Liara would not let Ashley out do her. She watched the woman leave before she headed out herself.

"Well that was pretty mature." Shepard's voice echoed humorously in her head.

"I'm not in a mature mood." Liara said shutting the voice out and making her way back to the ship, the core segment firmly in her hands.


	6. Chapter 6

Tortuga.

They said that if hell had an island it would be called Tortuga. It had a long history; starting on Earth in the 17th century when pirates used it as a place to hide from the authorities. It continued to a space station around Earth about a hundred years before the Prothean archives had been found. That station had ended up destroyed in an explosion that no one had ever been able to figure out. Then they had named planet after it. Of course humans were the only ones that really knew the whole history of the name. Most of the other Aliens were simply scoundrels looking for a place to hang their hat, or each other.

Tortuga has once been a planet with several settlements of wealth. A rather large deposit of eezo had been found just prior to the Reaper attack. With the chaos of the war the deposit had become a battle zone of its own. For five years several different organizations had fought bitterly over it. No one was ever completely sure who was running the mines; no one cared as long as they were paid.

Of course not everyone working the mine was being paid either. The fact that the planet, that was once heavily guarded, had become a lawless pit, invited every form of slave trader one could imagine. The gangs were rampant as well with several of the gangs having affiliations with mercenary groups. This was a cause of some major wars still fought on the very streets where people tried to live.

There was no concept of law and certainly no one brave enough to try and enforce any rules. It would take nothing short of a big bomb to clean up the place.

With all of the conflict the planet had to offer, it was an amazing place to hide.

Lissa slowly walked around the pit, looking for a good place to not only watch the fight below, but a vantage point where she could search most of the bar.

The Cerberus officer had once been hit in the head with a baton. It had pretty much taken her out of the fight she had been in, however what she remembered most was the sound it had made in her head. One would think it would be like an explosion, and she guessed it had been, but it was like a muffled explosion. She had been injured many times in many different ways, but there was nothing ever, like a head injury. She could fight through cuts and bruise and even bullets, but that muffled explosion had taken her right out.

That was probably why she had such respect for the Krogan. Anyone who did not respect their strength and fortitude had never fought one or was killed by one. She had fought a couple over her time but did not fool herself. There was no toying with a Krogan, no false bravado. You took them serious and took them down fast, or they would trample all over you.

Lissa could not help but remember being hit by the baton as she watch the two Krogan charge at each other and head-butt as the large crowd cheered on. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against a post as she watched the combatants. She was not sure who the second Krogan was but Ren was pretty much a local hero that had never been beaten. She had bet against him. There was something in the eyes of this unknown fighter that Lissa respected.

The two circled each other some more. The thing with the Krogan was to stay in close. There large bodies and smaller arms did not lend to hand to hand combat. Instead they charged and used their heads. They also had some blunt teeth that tended to break bones when they bit.

She kept her eyes open as the two fought. There was a large amount of money being passed off as the fight continued. The fight was not her concern though, although making extra money was always nice, she was looking for someone else.

Her eyes skimmed over the crowed. She hated Nunzio's. It was too crowed and to chaotic. The only rule in the bar was not to mess with the owner. Not that too many people would take on the Krogan, he was a high ranking member of the Blood Pack. He did not fancy combat or head butting, he simply favoured the shot gun that was always a second from his hands. There were too many soles to count, which had been carried out of the establishment after arguing with 'Nunzio' or messing with one of his employees.

Employees was term used loosely. He had a few of the Blood Pack hanging about for security but the half-naked girls that served the drink were not paid. Slavery ran rampant on Tortuga and there were plenty of humans on hand to force into it. There were even some imported Asari. Nunzio had no problem with touching the slaves, not as long as you paid to do so.

There were times when Lissa wished she had a big fucking bomb. She hated coming here and The Ambassador knew it. It was almost as if he was testing her loyalty every time she came. She decided to focus on the Krogan matches and not the abuse and use of the woman Nunzio employed.

She smiled to herself as the Ren's opponent avoided the older Krogans attack and hit him from the side, forcing him into the wall. The younger Krogan then took the opportunity gorge the older Krogan. He was like a wrecking machine, one that Ren had not expected, but then Ren was big and obnoxious and thought no one would ever beat him.

Ren struggled to get away from the younger Krogan and every time he was almost free the young Krogan would smash him again. She could see Ren's knees buckling. She figured it was over for the old man. There was a sudden squeal from the corner and she shifted her gaze for only a few seconds and she spotted the mercenary with a slave in the corner. She could not help but watch for a few second before the fighting crowd went wild and her attention was brought back to the fight.

She did not know what Ren had done but he was now standing over his opponent with his arms in the air. She could not tell of the other Krogan was dead or alive. She just knew that she had lost a lot of credits betting on him.

She cursed and made her way to the bar. She wanted to find her contact and get the hell out of this place as soon as possible. She sat on a stool and waited, ordering a drink to try and look like she fit in.

She had worn her armour for this trip. It was battle weary and dark and blended in with most of the other armour in the room. The only problem was she did not. She knew she did not fit in, with her well-trimmed hair and clean face and hands. At one point that made her a mark.

The first few times she had come here she had to fight her way to whatever she was looking for. She had earned her own reputation though and most now left her alone. There were always a few newcomers that tried to challenge her, or buy her. She was always very quick to let them know she was not a slave.

"Narth said you betted against me again." Came Ren's voice from behind her. She smiled and turned to him.

"And one of these days I'm going to make a lot of money betting against you Old Man." She really had no idea how old he was, just that he had always been here. He never argues against her calling him old either. Ren laughed at her.

"You'll be long dead and buried before I lose a fight." Ren boasted. It was probably true. Lissa ordered him a drink. "So who you looking for this time."

"I am sure you know. Not much goes through here that you don't know."

"So Kai Leng has finally outlived his usefulness." Ren smiled. That was an understatement. Not only had he outlived his usefulness but he had decided to steal a part of something that The Ambassador had been after, making the Cerberus leader regret his decision to allow him to live. "It was only a matter of time. You are not the first person to come here looking for him." Lissa raised a brow and looked to him. "Some human and a Drell were here a couple days ago."

"Human and a Drell." Lissa echoed. She had an idea of who that was. The Shadow Broker was getting close as well. She could only wonder how much the Asari knew. Was she after Kai Leng for the sake of Kai Leng, or did she want the information and items he had stolen from The Ambassador. Either way Lissa would make sure she got to him first.

"I told them he doesn't come here anymore. I figured you would be looking for him soon enough."

"What gave you that idea?" Lissa took a drink. The green liquid felt smooth going down her throat. As bad as this place was, they sure could mix a drink.

"Cause he couldn't shut up about you. I'm not sure if he was angry or in love." Ren chuckled at the face Lissa made. "There are worse people you could hook up with."

"Not many." Lissa stirred the drink slowly.

"He mentioned you kicked his ass and that for a shooter you packed a hell of a punch."

"If he hadn't run away I would have packed more than that."

Ren chuckled again. "You humans are good at talk."

"You Krogan are not much better." She smiled

"You know for Cerberus, you're not half bad." There was a moment of silence before Ren spoke again. "I got two things from him when he was here. One he wants to screw Cerberus up bad and two, he's gunning for you kid."

She thought about this for a few moments. "Well, that might make things easy for me." She thought out loud.

"Do not underestimate the man; he has survived a lot of things that would have killed a normal human. I don't know how many times I thought he was dead and then he showed up again. He has you in his sights and I think he's going to come full out."

"So he's not here?"

"No, he came had a fight or two to get out some frustration and then left. I think he has it bad, for you."

Lissa laughed. "We were not even friends." She put her drink down and threw some coin on the bar. "You think he's heading inward, to the Terminus?"

"Well he can't bring down Cerberus alone; I mean I don't know how he can touch them at all. I figure you perhaps have a clue or two. Just figure out what you think his next move might be."

She nodded, with the items he had he could go to the Alliance, but they would either kill him or arrest him on sight. That left the Terminus system and one of the Mercenary groups. The only problem with that was Kai Ling was the worse racist out there. He would not deal with the Blood Pack but the Eclipse and Blue Sun both had high complements of Humans. It would just be a matter of who Kai Leng hated the least. Batarians were high on his list, but Salarians were as well.

"Yeah, that's a little harder then it seems." She rubbed her forehead. Ren laughed. Human are unpredictable, not like Krogans. We get angry at each other we just butt heads then go and have a drink."

"Ren, when you get angry at someone they usually end up dead."

"Yeah but that's simple too." He looked around. "I would place my money on the Blue Sun, the Eclipse have always been a little bit feminine to me, too many Asari. If he was smart though he would start some sort of a bidding war, that is, if what he has is that good."

It was Lissa's turn to laugh. Ren was fishing now; if she answered that question then he would send the Blood Pack after Kai Leng. He was not part of the Pack but that was where his loyalty lay. "No Ren, this is personal." Lissa patted him on the back and made her way out of the bar. Ren watched her leave; he really did love a strong woman. He looked back to the bar keep.

"Tail her." He said simply, "and let Oster Sco know that I have something he might be interested in."

Lissa poured over the extranet looking for any information about Kai Leng. If he was going to auction the items he had stolen it would be there. She grew more frustrated by the moment. This was not her specialty. She knew he would go to the Terminus system; it was the next best hiding spot outside of Tortuga and the Nemean Abyss. He could hold out there and do his business without anyone really knowing who he was.

A Drell and a Human; it was easy to determine who they were. Drell's were rare in the grand population of Galactic community; they preferred to stay on Hanar Home world. Very few ever left. She also knew that the Shadow Broker employed a Drell Human team. This hunt for Leng was going to be a race, one she had to win. The Ambassador did not favour failure.

She moved to the front of her ship and sat down in the pilot seat. She would head to the Terminus system and the first thing she would do when she got there was get rid of the tail Ren had set up on her.


	7. Chapter 7

Liara was not sure what was more frustrating, the fact that every time she got a lead on deciphering the drive, she hit a wall, or the fact that Ashley was constantly asking for reports. She was losing precious time and wanted to get back to either tracking down Kai Leng or finding out who the blond woman was. She had a feeling they were probably intertwined.

She had been working on the cypher for just over three days now; she was beginning to wish she had brought Glyph with her. She was good but he had a processor built for things like this. A couple times she almost brought it to the Normandy but her pride decided against it.

She had been able to identify it as Reaper but there was something more to it, something that made her skin crawl but she could not put her hands on it. It would explain why Cerberus wanted it though. It was simply a smaller part of a much bigger picture. She would need to send more resources towards the Eclipse to find out what they had known.

She looked through her latest battery of algorithms and one at a time they failed as well. She sighed in frustration and threw herself into a chair, rubbing her forehead.

"I remember when a nice massage and some wine would relax you," Shepard voice snuck once again into her head. Liara growled slightly.

"Why now, am I hearing your voice in my head, why not five years ago?" she hissed.

"Hey, Blue, I am simply your subconscious. That blonde woman has put me here and you know it, you just don't know why."

"That's true," she said and shook her head.

"Call EDI. You know she will help you and not tell Ashley."

Liara knew she would, she was being stubborn but as the Shadow Broker she had learned to work alone. When she had first met Shepard she depended on the human for a lot of things. Liara knew she had been naïve but once Shepard had died she had changed. During the two years after Shepard's "death" she had learnt independence and she had learnt assertiveness. She had been like a bull on a charge with the Shadow Broker as the Matador.

She remembered when Shepard had first reappeared in her office on Illium. She had been threatening to flay a man's mind; she had written it off to simply a threat. The Asari had told her lover that she would never have done that, but she would have, and in those two years she had done worse.

Shepard had brought her back, had taken her out of the darkness she had been allowing herself to descend into. Knowing Cayle still loved her seemed to fill a void that had torn open when she watched her lover die in the explosion of the original Normandy.

This time, when the Citadel had exploded with Shepard on it she had felt shock and depression and even sadness, but she had never felt that deep void. It was one of the reasons that she had never been completely convinced that Cayle was dead.

She inhaled deeply and slammed her fist down on the arm rest. Twice she had been forced to abandon her lover.

As she hit the arm rest her computer went off. She looked to it for a few moments before rising. It had finally been able to break through the firewalls. She was actually, finally, going to get somewhere. She smiled slightly to herself.

She took a step forward when a familiar voice grated through her the communications. "Liara, any luck." It was Ashley.

"I think I do," she said moving to the computer. She watched as the data started to stream through. "Yes, I have finally broken the code."

"I am on my way."

"Great." Liara mumbled to herself after the communication ended. "I just can't wait to have you breathing over my neck."

She continued to go through the information that was now appearing and as she did she felt a small flame of fear start in the pit of her stomach. She was glue to the screen before her as Ashley entered the room. The Lt. Commander stood with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Well?" Ashley asked finally.

Liara looked to her. "It's a small file, and it's about reaper technology."

"Everyone has Reaper technology."

"Yes, but not everyone has Harbinger."

It was quiet for a long time as both women let the implications sink in.

Harbinger had been behind the Collectors and had tried to get Shepard's body the first time she had died. It had guided the Collectors to wipe out colonies of humans in the Terminus system and use them to try and make a human reaper. It followed Shepard relentlessly, almost to the point of obsessively. It had been on Earth during the final push of the battle. Harbinger had been what knocked Liara and Garrus out of the rush. Harbinger had been what eliminated all but Shepard and Admiral Anderson.

After it had taken out the Hammer force, Harbinger had disappeared. The allied forced had combed the wreckages on all the worlds that the Reapers had invaded but it had never been found. Most had theorized that it had made it back to Dark Space. There were even rumours of harbinger being spotted here and there. It had become somewhat of a myth.

"Harbinger." Ashley repeated finally. "Well shit, which has it now, Cerberus or the Eclipse."

"That would be the next big question," Liara scratched at her temple. One could only hope that the Eclipse were the ones holding it, they were not as organized as Cerberus. Liara had a lot of information on them and more than a few "favours" to hold over some members of the organization. She had no information on this new Cerberus front. Basics really; they had a new leader, they booted Kai Leng and they have some blonde assassin working for them.

"How bad is Harbinger?" Ashley asked. It was a good question but there was one problem.

"I really don't know. The theories run wild. The most common theory is that Harbinger is able to control the citadel. Some believe that it might even be able to control other reapers as well. It was the first. It holds the entire history of the reapers and their technology. Not only that but we don't know its condition. It could still be active."

Ashley whistles slightly and looked to the floor. "You think you can get some information, find out who has it?"

Liara looked to her. Finding Harbinger had just made to the top of three things to do list, that was just a given, but she certainly did not want to work with the Alliance. Rather; she did not want to work with Ashley.

"I will try but it will take time. I can let you know as soon as I do."

It was quiet for a long time as both women looked at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing on the small ship.

"I know you still don't believe Shepard is dead," Ashley started but Liara jumped on her quickly.

"Ashley now is not the time."

"I fell like you blame me for her, for everything."

Liara stuck her finger up into Ashley's face, her anger building quicker than even she expected. "Is that what you think? That I am angry with you because she is gone? That I blame you for everything that had gone wrong in the Universe, that you're some big bad evil witch?"

"Liara, come on whenever we are even near each other the air thickens. I know you are angry with me. Shepard was my friend too. I miss her too. She was like a sister to me."

"Was she, really?" Liara started crossing her arms over her chest. "Well you certainly had a funny way of showing it. You stab all your sisters in the back?"

Ashley moved closer her own temper obviously starting to boil. "You watch what you accuse me of. I respect you because Shepard loved and respected you."

"Stop it Ashley, do you even have any idea of how much you lack of trust in her hurt. Your words on Horizon, they haunted her. The fact that you did not trust her, accused her of being a traitor. Walking away from her like you did. She wanted you there, by her side to take down the Collectors and you would not even give her the time of day. She wanted you to have her back and you refused."

"She was working for Cerberus."

"She was trying to save the human colonies in the Terminus system that the Alliance would not. She worked for Cerberus because they would allow her to do that. When it was over she dumped them. She used them and you turned your back on her."

"I was going on the information I was given at the time. How was I to know?"

"You didn't need to know, Ashley, you just had to trust the woman that has always had your back."

"It was Cerberus; they could have been controlling her," Ashley defended; Liara threw her hands in the air dramatically.

"Even after she left Cerberus and returned to Earth you still doubted her, constantly questioning her, linking her with Cerberus. You pointed a gun at her for goddess sake. All she ever did was support you and you pulled a gun on her. She forgave you Ashley, even after all that she forgave you, but I will tell you this. It bothered her that you could never trust her."

Ashley stood looking at the floor again, rubbing the back of her neck. "I wish I could take it back," she said softly.

Liara suddenly felt bad for throwing all of this on the black haired woman. She sighed, "When you came back to the Normandy, Shepard was very happy. I mean she was never the type to come out and tell you, but the crew of the Normandy had always been like her family. She lost Kaidan, Morden and Thane she really did not want to lose you, you were like a sister. An annoying little sister that continually argued, but a sister." There was a long pause.

"I miss her," Ashley whispered.

Liara smiled slightly. "As do I Ash, so much that there are times I feel like my heart has broken out of my chest. There is not a day that goes by that I don't see her in those last moments, that I don't hear goodbye. There is not a day that I don't think of how alone she must have been on the Citadel," she began to fiddle with her own hands. "We were going to have lots of little blue babies."

"I'm sorry Liara," she said earnestly.

"I'm sorry too," it was quiet for a few moments longer. "I have a lead on Kai Leng that I want to follow up on. Cerberus is looking for him, rumour has it that he stole something and I'm thinking now it might have something to do with Harbinger. I would like to get to him before that Cerberus assassin does."

"Liara, he bested Shepard twice, you need to be careful going after him," the Alliance officer didn't need to say it; it was obvious Ashley did not think Liara could hold her own. Liara was not an arms master like the woman before her, but she could certainly hold her own in a fight. She would need to be careful though, she had been there both times Kai Leng bested Shepard.

"I'll be ok Ash, I won't be alone. I am the Shadow Broker after all; I do have my own small army," she smiled slightly. She had fired most of the original Shadow Brokers army and hired her own, personally overseeing the recruitment herself. Not only that but she had added several independent mercenaries to her payroll.

"I will take this information to the Alliance and the council," Ashley said. "See what they want me to do with it."

Liara smiled. "What do you want to do with this information Ashley?"

"I would like to find Harbinger and either destroy it or place it in safe hands." Ashley said.

"And what are safe hands, the council, the Alliance. You don't think either would use it to benefit themselves. Being a Spectre is sometimes deciding what is best for everyone as a whole. What would Shepard do?"

Ashley was silent for a while, they both new the answer to that. "She would not let it fall into hands that would use it for their own purpose. Do you think the Alliance would do that, the Council?"

"Time and again the Council has proven that they look after themselves first. The Alliance, even though they led the war, are still fumbling for a place; Harbinger and being in control of the Citadel would be a huge boost. Not only that but Cerberus fingers run very deep, would we truly know who to trust. I am going to look for Harbinger Ashley, but if I find it I will destroy it. Shepard…" she could not say the words. "She's not here because of what she did to destroy the Reapers and I will finish it for her."

"If it means anything Liara, the Normandy and I will be there for you," she could hear the determination in Ashley's voice. She smiled to the woman.

"Thank you," Liara whispered and nodded. She watched as Ashley left her room and then turned back to the console she had been working on the others that lined the wall. She just needed to get a hold of the two that were hunting Kai Leng. She rubbed her neck remembering the encounter she had with him where he threw her like a rag doll through the shrine on Thessia. He would not ever do that to her again. Taking care of Kai Leng would be another situation she would finish for Shepard.

* * *

Liara could only wonder why anyone would want to come to Horizon. She had come with Shepard all those years ago when Cerberus had built Sanctuary. Before Sanctuary the Collectors had hit but Shepard had been able to stop them from taking the whole colony. It was still advertised as the next Earth but the population had pretty much dwindled to scientist. People still remembered the horrors that had happened here and some of the colonies were merely ghost town with the only signs of life a colony outpost that was funded by the Alliance.

It would figure that Kai Leng would return to such a wretched place. Sanctuary had been demolished since the war and the underground tunnel sealed. Entry was barred. A large statue had been placed on its ground as a tombstone for all those that had died within. They would never know how many people died inside but they had listed as many names as they could on a wall that stood around the statue. Not that anyone ever came to see it. It was not even considered a tourist attraction. Just a memory that most wanted to forget. Liara knew she certainly wanted to forget it.

Another ship waited in orbit of the plant for her and she recognized Mouse's new Mantis A-71 gunship immediately. He had after all taken pictures of it from every angle and sent it to her. He was extremely proud of it and he deserved to be. For the last four years he had saved just about every bit of pay Liara had sent his way, living in squalor, eating paste or whatever else he could get for free. When she had hired him he had said that one day he would have a ship of his own and he had worked hard for it.

He shared it now with Koylat and they work well as a team. They were perhaps her most trusted agents behind Javik, but then the Prothean was more like muscle anyway.

Liara smiled as she spotted the name on the side of the ship; Krios. Not for Koylat but Mouse had been close to Thane as well. She could not help but wonder what Shepard would make of the two; she had originally dealt with both of them as they were working outside of the law. She opened communication with them.

"Hello Boss Lady," Mouse's voice filled her room. He always called her that. She had tried to discourage it once but it had never worked.

"Hello Mouse, is he here?" she said cutting right to the chase.

"He landed a few hours ago, Krios went down to try and find him," there was a pause. "I have not hear back from him," she could hear the worry in Mouse's voice.

Liara did not like the sounds of that but Koylat was one of the best trackers she knew and he had this knack of blending in to pretty much anything. The communication silence could have been for anything, there were some very dense forest areas on the planet. He could be too close to Kai Leng to make a report. They would not be able to find out from up here.

"I am sure everything is fine. Koylat is very capable at what he does; we will go down and find him," she smiled reassuringly even though Mouse could not see her.

"Sounds good. I'll meet you on the…" he was cut off as a third; larger ship came out of FTL. It was obviously some sort of a gun ship and it looked dangerous. It stopped in front of them hovering, menacing.

"I don't think this is a good thing," Liara said to Mouse as she paged Falere to the bridge. The other woman had obviously been on her way judging by how fast she made it.

"Who is it?" she asked strapping herself in. Of the two of them she was the much better pilot. She took the control.

"I don't know but I have a bad feeling about this," Liara said preparing herself for the worse.


	8. Chapter 8

NOTE: Combat and battle scene like this are not my strong suit, feel free to send me suggestions on how to improve it cause I do really really suck at it.

Lissa was still struggling to understand how Kai Leng had any friends. She had known him for almost three years and although they had started to become friendly, he had blown it by jumping on one of her jobs. She knew he had been trying to help and that he had wanted to impress her. She still remembered how proud he looked when he had run told her. She knew he liked her; he had been following her around for a while. In their line of work it was hard to find someone compatible to try and share some time with. Kai Leng obviously thought that he had found somewhat of a companion in her.

He had been wrong. She scowled as she pulled her ship of port and headed towards the Mass Effect relay. She was more than certain that her shoulder was eventually going to give out, but she knew where the assassin was now and she wanted to end this. She hated leaving a job open for too long and Kai Leng had been making her dance through hoops to find him. The worst part was she got the impression he wanted her to do so.

She had landed on Illium two days ago. The Ambassador had contacted her with information that Kai Leng was there. He had also reminded her that he did not suffer failure well, a stark reminder that he was a harsh man. He had once stabbed her in the hand with a knife when she had attracted too much attention by shooting a target instead of cutting his throat. She had almost been arrested and his thugs in C Sec had covered her tracks. He hated owing them anything and he made sure she was aware of that fact. She did not want to see what his punishment would be if she failed to get the device back from Kai Leng, and eliminate him in the process.

She grunted in discomfort and she used her injured arm to flip through maps until she landed on Shadow Sea. Why the hell anyone would want to go to that curse placed was beyond her. Knowing Kai Leng, he probably had a house and a cottage. He was partial to misery and Horizon had certainly seen its unfair share of it.

She had not been a part of Sanctuary. That had been the Illusive man's pet. He had built the facility as a trap. He needed people for his inhumane experiments and what better way to get line ups then to offer them safety. The Illusive Mans greatest achievement had been the downfall of Cerberus.

When the Alliance had found the structure, not only had the Alliance and its allies been outraged, many of the Cerberus benefactors had been as well. It had taken The Ambassador five years to get things in order again. To convince the investors that he did not condone the mass murder the Illusive Man had committed, that the Illusive Man had gone beyond his reach in this endeavour.

Not that The Ambassador or any of the investors were beyond the ends justifying the means, it was just hard to justify when the means was that big.

Illium had once been a beautiful planet. You could still see some of cities that the Asari had built, but they were few and far between. Nos Astra was one such city that had been rebuilt since the Reaper attack; however it was a shadow of its former self. The safety one used to seek in a place such as this was gone. It was no longer a simple step up from Omega. It had fallen to par and somewhat even less.

Lissa hated it even more then she hated Omega. At least on the Asteroid you knew what you were getting into. There was no pretense that it was a pleasant place. Illium was still trying desperately to maintain the image that they were safe. There were certainly pockets that were protected but for the most part it was no better then it's poorer counterpart.

Lissa had decided that after the most recent encounter that she hated Illium.

The Ambassador was rarely wrong and he had assured her that Kai Leng had been on the Asari planet. She had even been able to track him down, and Kai Leng had been, at one point, hiding in a old secret Cerberus facility just outside of Nos Astra. He was long since gone by the time Lissa arrived, but he did leave a few little presents, like he had been expecting her. The building he had been "staying" in had been trapped from one end to the other and ended in a room that held three of those Phantoms he had been so fond of.

She had entered a room cautiously enough, even though she had realized at that point Kai Leng was gone. She had to, in good conscious; finish a complete search. She should have expected something but she was stupid enough to let her guard down slightly, slightly enough that she had not even seen the slight ruffle in the background as the Phantom came out of cloak and stuck that stupid sword of hers deep into Lissa's shoulder.

Lissa had retaliated by grabbing the woman's hand and pulling it, pushing the sword deeper but bur bringing the woman closer. At the same time she snapped her hand up and under her chin, hitting it point blank with her incinerate. It reeled back but didn't go down. Of course it didn't, it was almost like half machine. When the hand came towards her Lissa moved out of its way and used the Phantoms own momentum. She grabbed the woman's wrist as it went by and twisted pushing her almost through the wall with her good arm. It was not a life stopping manoeuvre but it would allow her time to get some distance between them.

The other thing that worried her was Kai Leng had five or six of these things in his employ. She needed to make sure that this one was alone. As the Phantom recovered Lissa exited the room at top speed as she withdrew her pistol. She swung around and opened fire but the Phantom had cloaked.

This time she was more aware of what she was up against and the Phantom was not the only one with cloaking technology. She cloaked herself long enough to remove the sword from her shoulder, although she was certain her screaming gave away her position. She had never thought the sword would hurt more coming out, but then she did not have time to make it gentle.

The blast from the Phantom hit the ground just to her left and she rolled and began to run again. She had been training in martial arts from some time with Kai Leng, but the Phantoms were almost bred for this sort of thing. Only a fool would stand toe to toe with them at close quarters.

She turned into another room and was about to fire again when a second phantom came out of cloak and attacked. This time Lissa was not interested in playing. Again she moved out of the way of the attack dropping the sword she had been carrying. Her fingers clenched down on a sticky bomb and jammed it into the woman armour and dove as it exploded. As she turned to face the first Phantom she found herself covered in blood and things she really didn't want to think about. She opened fire again only to have the woman dance out of the way. She hated these things.

Again she narrowly missed the blast from the woman's hand, diving to the ground. She placed her hand down for balance and found it resting on the hilt of the sword she had abandoned. She crawled backwards as the Phantom came at her, letting it close the gap just enough. When she was in range Lissa flung the sword as hard as she could and watched as it sunk into the woman stomach. It stopped her in mid attack as she fell to her knees. Lissa lifted her pistol and shot twice for good measure.

Once the Phantom fell Lissa allowed herself to collapse back to the ground. She realized that Kai Leng was gone and this was his attempt to kill her. She was not sure if she was angry at him for trying or angry at herself for getting injured. Either way she would take it up with him when they met.

She was struggling to get up when she heard the Phantom she had just shot sputter. Lissa raised a brow and struggled to her knees and moved over to the woman. She reached down and removed the mask, making a face. These half human husk always seemed to make her sick.

"Where is he?" She asked. The Phantom just stared at her through half dead eyes. Lissa winced on the inside and pushed her thumb hard against where one of her bullet had gone into the woman chest. The woman screamed and Lissa almost stopped, but she had a job to do. "You owe him nothing for allowing this to be done to you."

Again there was no response. Lissa sighed and stood up. She knew these things were not really human, not anymore, more of a program than anything else. They were horrible when they were creations of the Reapers. Knowing that a human had done this made it even worse. This was never what Cerberus intended, they did not want to bastardize humanity; they wanted to make it stronger. Lissa shot the woman last time, making sure her suffering was over.

This had forced her to have to visit Teim Nam and she could not stand Teim as a matter of fact if there was one race she certainly did not like it was the Volus. She liked them even less than she liked the Vorcha. She was not sure if it was the breath they took in the middle of every sentence, or that most of them were dirtier than a mud bath.

Teim had made her give him a song and dance for the information he gave her about Horizon. As usual everything he did with her, or any female of any race, was laced with a million sexual innuendos. Suffering him was akin to suffering salt in a wound.

He had given her the information, and after a picking up some packages he wanted delivered she had been on her way. She had just wished she had taken the time to go to a medical centre. Her should was hurting something fierce. She had used medigel but that was no better than a bandage.

As she approached the relay she entered the co-ordinated of where she wanted to go and headed for the Mass relay. She was struggling to bind her wound by herself. It was no small task. She had no talent working with just one hand.

She looked up as the familiar pulled ended and she paused activated the FTL drive. A few moments later she found herself in orbit of Horizon and coming face to face with two ships that were already there. She froze as she looked out to them, a bandage hanging out of the side of her mouth as she had been trying to tie the gauze down. She knew the first ship to be a Mantis A-71. It was a powerful ship in its own right. The Cerberus Griffon that she flew was only slightly more powerful. The other ship she did not recognize right away. With her good hand she did several quick checks.

"T'Soni." She spit out the bandage, giving up with it. She had bigger concerns at the moment, like two to one odds. She opened fire quickly, hitting the M-71, targeting the Mass accelerators before the ship could get its kinetic barriers up. It was more than obvious that the two ships were not expecting company. She fired at T'Soni as well but the Asari was fast. The A-71 was out of the battle but the Shadow Broker was not. She threw out a torpedo which Lissa was able to counter. The small fight then turned into a chase as Lissa headed into the planet's atmosphere. T'Soni raced after her.

Lissa made a quick turn and headed towards a canyon she had spotted. T'Soni's ship was bigger but faster than the Griffon but the small Cerberus ship had maneuverability. The Shadow Broker launched an attack and Lissa was forced to concentrate to avoid being hit. She made one wrong move now and she simply is a stand on a cavern wall. As she flew through the canyon she spotted a long covered tunnel. She could head through that and get behind the larger ship. It would certainly change the semantics of the chase and put her more in charge of it.

She looped them around and hit the tunnel at top speed. As she entered the covered canyon she slowed down for a few second and then gunned it again, enough that when she came out of the canyon she would be in a better position.

She flew out and was surprised to find that the Shadow broker had thought of the exact same thing. The only problem now was Lissa had nowhere to manoeuvre to as she plowed into the back of the bigger shi, causing them both to make an awful noise. She quickly powered her ship down as it was now attached to Liara's ship. She let the Asari have the control, to fight for it would only mean an instant crash and burn.

She cursed to herself. This was the second time in one day she had made a bad choice. She could hope that this one would not get her killed. As it was it was going to be painful. They were going to crash; there was no doubt in that.

She had to admit Liara was a talented pilot as she got them out of the canyon and two a wooded area and some height to boot. For a few seconds Lissa actually thought maybe they would make it. Then the loud tearing sound filled the air as her ship tore away and began to fall.

"Oh, shit." She said and attempted to power the Griffon back up. It didn't start. She could see the Shadow Brokers ship plummeting as well. She thought about ejecting but they were far too close to the ground for that. Instead she did her best to level the ship out.

She landed once but the ship was not stopped yet. As a matter of fact it launched into the air again and skipped like a rock in the water. Lissa had no idea of how many times it did this as object were blowing up around her. She had hit her head twice and as with all bad karma, everything that was loose in the cockpit hit her already injured shoulder. When the ship finally came to its resting place the only thing Lissa was thankful for was she was alive. Everything else felt horrible.

She sat in her chair, which was actually lying sideways on the floor, for a few moments as she collected her thoughts and bearings. The first thing she needed to do was find her arms and armour. She reached down with her bad arm and released the clasp that held her in place. She unceremoniously fell to the ground.

She grunted with effort as she stood and proceeded to the cargo hold part of the Griffon. She grabbed a med kit and did her best to fix what she could, but the pain still remained. It took her a few minutes to realize there was a slight greenish blue cloud filling the room, coming from Teim's packages. As she inhaled the fumes she realise the Volus was having her deliver some sort of drug. She stared at it for a long moment observing just how beautiful the cloud was.

She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. She found her armour and quickly changed into it and grabbed her Black Widow and pistol. She always felt so much better when her widow was with her. She cradled it in her arm and stroked it as if it was a baby. She smiled as she left her ship, everything was starting to blend together in a very colourful way and her pain slowly dissipated to a dull roar.

She shook her head again and inhaled the Horizon air, hoping that would get the drug out of her system. Then it truly hit her.

"Oh wow." She said looking up into the blue sky and falling back to the ground. Lissa had never once taken a drug before; neither was she particularly a drinker. Sure there were a few times during her training she had gotten drunk and done really stupid thing but they were few and far between.

She kept licking her lips, they were so smooth and the motion of her tongue on her lips was almost euphoric. She paused and shook her head again trying to shake this, wonderful, feeling that seemed to be taking her over. Her heart was racing and she felt like she was floating. She rolled on to her stomach and forced herself to stand, still cradling her Black widow like a baby.

"Need to clear my head." She said and frowned as she looked over her omni tool. There was nothing there that would help her, but it did look particularly shinny today. She scratched at her face as an itch began to bother her. She knew she should be concerned for her health and she knew that she had a job to do; she was just finding it a little bit hard to care.

She could hear someone approaching and froze, her eyes darting around. She spotted a bush by a tree and bolted for it, however before she even made it a figure stepped out in front of it and she fell slightly. She looked up as the sun seemed to shine solely on the woman that looked down to her. She was like a Goddess, standing there with concern in her beautiful big blue eyes. They stared at each other for a long time. Damn, but Lissa really had a thing for the Asari people.

Without thinking she stood and approached the woman. Before the Asari could do anything Lissa cupped her chin and rubbed her cheek with her thumb. "You are beautiful." She whispered and leaned forward and kissed the woman. The moment their lips touch all sorts of sparks started to explode and she felt as if this kiss was right in so many ways. The Asari resisted for a second but then found herself drawn into the kiss as well. Lissa felt her hands on her waist, pulling her close. It was as if they were meant to fit together in some strange way. Either that or the drug was a hell of a powerful thing.

"Liara?" Someone called and Lissa opened her eyes and realized who she was kissing. She jerked away quickly.

"What the hell?" She sputtered.

"Cayle." The Asari whispered and reached out for her. Lissa jumped back as if the woman's hand was on fire and slapped it away. The world was spinning around on her and she needed to get away. She turned and stumbled, not really sure where she was going, just knowing that she needed to get away from these Asari that were at her ship.


	9. Chapter 9

**Well I was almost done once and the computer ate half of it so if it seems a bit of sorry**.

Time with Shepard had always been few and far between. After they had first admitted their feelings for each other they had one special night before they dealt with Saren. That first was, for Liara, the most memorable. She had never seen Cayle as vulnerable as she had been that night. Her lover had allowed her to see a side of her she had never shown anyone and Liara had treasured every moment.

Liara remembered the young Commander actually blushing as she had tried to explain how she had been reading and watching vids about the Asari. It had been cute, how Cayle's hand fidgeted with each other and she looked everywhere but at Liara. Then when she finished telling her she looked to her lover as if daring her to laugh or make issue with it. There was no laughing as they kissed. The young human had been a great hands on learner. Not that Liara had much to compare it to either, but the term heaven came to mind.

She had watched Cayle battle both physically and emotionally as they struggled to stop Sovereign. Her strength had actually scared Liara at first, but soon she had learned that it was Shepard's strength that carried the team. It was Shepard's strength that had drawn Liara to her. Seeing her struggle and vulnerable had endured the Asari to her, it had actually sent feeling through her that she had never experienced before. Not that Liara had any more experience in this regard then the human. But Shepard was so strong and so determined that she always met every challenge head on leaving a trail of destruction behind her. She always did what she had to without complaint and to her fullest, she never stepped back she never caved in. It was one of the reasons why people followed her.

Her loyalty to her people was legendary; she always put their concerns before herself. Sure they all went on dangerous missions but Shepard had always done her best to bring each of them back. Liara had never forgotten how destroyed Cayle had been when they had lost Kaiden. There was not a day that had gone by where the Human did not try to think of what she could have done to save everyone. She had never accepted it as impossible, only a failure and a learning experience. She had told Liara that she would never loose anyone again but they both knew that was impossible.

That first night together, she would never forget Shepard's gentle clumsiness, the tremble in her hands as they explored Liara's body, bringing out sensations Liara had never experienced before. The little, almost silent throaty grunts through her slightly parted lips as Liara explored her body. Cayle was an intense person at the best of time but that night it was mixed with desperation and love.

Liara had been surprised when she took Shepard into her arms, lying in the afterglow, the young human trembled, her head resting against the Asari's chest. Completely vulnerable and open and completely trusting in Liara and her love.

Liara had never forgotten that night, she still dreamt of it on occasion. Not that any other night with Shepard had been less, but it had been the first.

This was the memory she wanted to hold as Falere fought to get their ship back under control. If they were going to die, she wanted to die with that memory.

Sparks and flames were intermittently shooting through the cockpit as Falere curse under her breath. Liara felt the ship pull up, and she could only wonder if that was a good idea. It would just make the fall that much worse. However the sudden steep climb was enough to finally shake the Cerberus ship that had crashed into them. Falere seemed to finally gain some control.

"There, that wasn't too bad." Liara said with a smile and a nod to her talented pilot.

"We are going to have to land, we can't break atmosphere." Falere answered not sharing the Shadow Brokers enthusiasm. "Landing is…"

Explosions cut the Asari off as the ship suddenly tilted and plummet towards the ground. "This is not good." Liara called over the loud noise the ship was now making.

"You are very good with understatements T'Soni." Falere bit her bottom lip as she fought the control trying to at least level the ship. She did not want a head on collision with the ground. The older Asari's hands flew over the control and finally managed to control the descent, at least a little bit. The ship leveled off and a slight reversal of the remaining engine was enough to slow them down. That did not lessen the impact with the ground as Liara felt her straps digging into her skin.

When the ship finally stopped moving it was quiet for a few moments then, suddenly, both women started to laugh. It took them a few moments to get over the nervous laughing fit they were having. Falere cut her straps first and moved over to help Liara out of hers.

"You ok?" She asked. Liara nodded but winced as she tenderly touched the bruises the straps had left behind.

"You?"

"I don't think anything's broken." Falere replied as they made their way out of the ship. "Communications is down."

"You didn't happen to see where we landed or where the other ship landed?" Liara asked, one look at Falere told her, she had not. At least they had Mouse to come down and get them, whenever he figured out he needed to.

"I see smoke over there a bit; I would guess that would be the other ship." The Ardat Yashi stated.

"Well I suggest we go and find out who that was." Liara knew it had been a Cerberus Griffon, not that all them housed Cerberus officers but in this case she would hazard that this one did. She took a few moments to collect the things she would need while Falere pinpointed their location on her omni tool.

She handed Falere a pistol and took one for herself. She almost laughed at her assistant reaction to the weapon.

"I, don't know how to use one of these." She said holding it by the barrel. Before Liara had employed her, Falere was housed in a Monastery for other Ardat Yashi. A place where they could learn to control the power they could wield. She had been the only survivor of the Reaper massacre of the Monastery.

Falere had promised to stay in the destroyed building alone but Liara had felt sorry for her and given her an alternative. Falere's condition was deadly but the Asari was more than able to control her urges. However, Liara was prone to keeping her out of harm's way. Unfortunately this little excursion had not been planned and now both of them were trapped on the planet.

She had thought of leaving Falere with the ship and let her try and get communications running again. But she then decided that until they dealt with the possible Cerberus threat that she would keep the other Asari close.

Liara smiled and took the pistol, connecting it to Falere's belt. "I am sure you known enough." She said and stood. "You probably will not need to use it, but you will have it just in case." They were both biotics, powerful biotics, but Liara had never really seen Falere in any sort of combat.

Falere looked at her for a moment as if she had two head. Running around a strange forest after some pilot that was crazy enough to ram their ship, was not her idea of a good time. She was more of the office, I'll get your info and your coffee sort of person. She had shot a gun, once, out of curiosity but it was loud and rough. She preferred her biotics. "Are you sure it's wise to hunt this unknown person. We know nothing about who it is, we have limited computers and no communications."

Liara smiled. "We will be fine." She said. She had never really seen combat herself until she had met Shepard. It had been Cayle who had taught her how to properly fire a gun. "Maybe we'll get lucky and they died in the crash."

"Or they could be hunting us down." Falere countered.

"Only one way to find out." Liara led them away from her ship.

The distance between the two crash sights had not been as far as it looked. It had only taken just over an hour. The Griffon had taken a lot more damage than their ship. She actually figured it was in its final resting place. She moved around to the back, her pistol drawn, she motioned for Falere to go the other direction.

She spotted the armoured figure on the ground, withering and moaning something she could not really make out. It was the blonde hair she recognized first, the short cut, usually neat hair of the assassin from Earth. She was obviously injured as she had blood on her cheek but Liara was not certain this was what was affecting her at the moment. It was simply not that kind of moaning. She moved closer and the woman snapped up to a kneeling position, shaking her head as if trying to clear it.

There was something severely wrong with the woman and she was bleeding, but from the shoulder, she could see the blood leaking out from the armour. For some reason seeing this woman hurt affected her on a level she could not understand.

"Are you ok?" Liara asked bending slightly looking into the woman's bright green eyes. She noticed the almost fully dilated pupils. She was high on something; she had not pegged the blonde as an addict.

What happened next took Liara by storm. The woman was standing right in front of her in an instant. She was fast for an injured, drugged out human. But then Liara felt the woman's hand cup her cheek, her thumb caressing her gently.

"You are beautiful." The woman whispered, and then she kissed her. Liara's hands went to her hips with the intention to push the woman away but the kiss, she had been kissed like this before. She had been kissed by these lips before. Instead of pushing the woman away she placed her hands on her hips and gripped tightly, pulling her closer.

It was as if her whole world started spinning and the only thing that was right was this kiss. Her mind, and heart were racing but her mind only focused on the kiss. Time had frozen.

"Liara." Falere's voice reached her, it was filled with concern. The blonde woman opened her eyes and jerked away as if she had been slapped.

"What the hell?" She sputtered.

"Cayle." Liara whispered it was her; there was no doubt in Liara's mind. The kiss, her voice, her lips, she imagined the woman with long black hair and blue eyes and it was Cayle. She reached out, wanting to draw the woman back to her. The Cerberus assassin jumped back as if Liara's hand was on fire and slapped it away. She then turned and ran.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Falere drawing her pistol and aiming it at the woman's back.

"No!" She screamed and biotically pushed the gun away as it fired. Falere turned her head and looked to her. "No." Liara whispered. She looked to where the woman, where Shepard had run off to, placing her fingers over her lips, still feeling the kiss. She looked to Falere. "That was her." She stated.

Falere obviously had no idea what Liara was talking about. She turned to her boss. "That was who?"

"Shepard."

Falere stopped for only a few moments to consider this "She's a well-trained assassin." They entered the Griffon. "She doesn't even look like Shepard. She works for Cerberus, Shepard would," She paused and thought about that. "Not work for Cerberus in that capacity."

"She never worked for Cerberus; she just took their funding and information and used it to defeat the collectors." Liara defended and made a face as she accidently stepped into something that caused a blue cloud around her foot.

"Ember." Falere said.

"The box is broken; she must have inhaled this by accident." Liara could not help but smile. "It must have been a ride."

"I wouldn't know and Ember doesn't affect us." Falere said. "Except, maybe a slight effect on our biotics." She said. Liara looked to her.

"Well that's not good." They might need those; they were going after Kai Leng after all. She could only hope that it was out of their system before they found him.

"How do you figure she's Shepard?" Falere asked finally.

"I'm not telling, I'll just have to listen to you tell me how foolish it is."

"Liara!"

Liara sighed as she made her way to the cockpit. Concern filled her as she noticed just how much blood was on the pilot's seat. "It was in the kiss." Liara said as she cut away a part of the bloodied seat. "The way she held me, the feel of her hands." She looked to Falere. "It's not something you ever forget."

"Her communicator is still working." Falere said. "You want me to have Mouse come down?"

"Yes, then we can track her down and hopefully she will led us to Kai Leng and we can get this over with." She paused. Then she would find Shepard and do whatever it took to get her back.

Mouse had taken Falere back with him aboard his ship and she had teamed up with Krios. Liara felt much better knowing that Falere was now out of harm's way.

Koylat had come a long way since Shepard and Thane had stopped him from making the biggest mistake of his life. Not that Liara was ever truly convinced that the young Drell would ever have pulled the trigger. She knew he wanted to think he could do it but not even he was completely convinced.

Krios had a good heart. He was kind and thoughtful and exceedingly smart. He was also cunning and sly and one of the most covert people she knew. He had been working for her for the better part of three years and he had never failed her in the information he was able to gather.

Today was no different.

They lay low in the bushes looking at the factory about three hundred meters away. There were three guards at the main door and two on each of the additional doors. Koylat had confirmed that Kai Leng was inside. He had two of his Phantoms with him and the rumour was he had something that Cerberus wanted, something essential to whatever they took from the Eclipse. He had just not been able to figure out what it was. He did know that there was some sort of an auction going on inside via the extranet.

"I don't think the front door approach would be best." Liara said. "Any roof access?"

"That would not be easy. He has guards all over the place and I am sure someone would see us scaling a wall." Koylat said. "However on the other side there is this one entrance. It has two guards but one of them smokes and the other doesn't like it so he goes for a walk while he does. We could take them out one at a time."

Liara scowled slightly, she and Koylat would not be able to take on two Phantoms as well as Kai Leng. She certainly did not want to involve Falere or Mouse. They would simply be fodder and Liara would not allow that. She would have to come up with a spectacular plan.

She suddenly wished Tali and Garrus were here. Tali could hack into anything. She had been good during the war but gotten so much better since. Tali often helped her get some deeply buried information. Garrus would have been a welcomed gun on this outing. They had children to think of now and Liara would never endanger that.

"Falere told me about the Cerberus assassin." Koylat said turning to face her.

"Falere talks too much." Liara said a little bit angry.

"She is just worried about you, as am I. We have become a little bit of a family, the lot of us." Koylat said. "None of us want to see you get hurt."

Liara looked to him for a minute. "It was Cayle." Liara said. "I understand now is not the time to chase her and we need to find out what Cerberus did to her, but when this Kai Leng business of over, we will be dealing with it."

"And what if it's not her, just someone like her?"

Liara sighed and looked down. They did not understand, they did not believe. It didn't matter she believed, she would bring Cayle back. "What are the chances of that?"

"Better than the chances of Shepard surviving the blast on the Citadel, getting kidnaped by Cerberus and transferred into some assassin woman." Koylat said.

He was right, they had all become like a family and Koylat was that wise older brother. He and Falere were her closest with Mouse being that weird cousin and Javik being that older reclusive weird and opinionated Uncle. She had hoped they would have least supported her in her beliefs.

"She was never found." Liara countered.

"Hundred and thousands of people were never found. From what I understand there was not much of Admiral Anderson to bury and he was slightly away from the blast. Liara, please I worry that you could really get hurt."

She smiled to him and resisted the urge to hug him. "I will be fine." She said simply. "Let's go to the other side and wait for that guard to go for a smoke."

She let Koylat guide her around. He had been the one that had spent hours scouting the place out and admittedly he was better than her at this sort of thing. She had not really done anything like this in five years.

As they moved her mind wandered. She knew why her friends had their doubts, why they were all concerned, but she knew. She was absolutely sure that the blonde woman was Shepard. She was a little bit less sure on how Cayle had become a Cerberus assassin, but she knew there was an answer. She knew it in her heart the instant their lips touched. The question now was how to get her back.

"I don't remember anything." She remembered Cayle saying, the scene replayed in her head. Edi had shown Shepard a program about the Lazarus project. She remember the tone in the Spectres voice, she had never heard it before, doubt, confusion, fear. Her heart had gone out to her lover as she struggled to understand what had happened to her. What Liara had allowed to happen to her.

"Maybe they really just fixed me, or maybe I'm just a high tech VI that thinks its Commander Shepard. But I don't know…"

"I wish you told me Shepard. I knew it was really you the first time I touched you again." Liara had tried to console her. It was true though, literally the first time on Illium, where they touched and Shepard had kissed her, she knew it was Shepard and not something Cerberus had built. She knew it now and she was going to get her lover back.

She felt Koylat grabbed her and pull her down with a jerk; she fell to her knees behind some tall grass, looking She looked around and then to him.

"Over there, just behind that jeep." He said and pointed. She saw it immediately, the human laying on the ground, a pool of blood around his head. She looked to the second guard who she had thought, at first, was leaning against the jeep. She now realized he was wedged between the pile of boxes and the corner panel and was not moving, his head angled awkwardly. "It seems as though your ghost has been here."

"Well we seem to be after the same thing." Liara said. "If we get lucky, she wants him dead as well."

"Yes but if she get whatever it is he has it will go back to Cerberus and I somehow do not think that's a good thing."

They moved again, past the two dead guards and into the complex. Once inside he activated his scanner. "There is a room closer to the middle and two flights down. It contains three people. You friend is approaching the room."

She nodded and let him lead, as she withdrew her pistol. The scanners were never fully accurate and she wanted to make sure she could cover her partner. "I'm thinking we let your friend take out the phantoms and then we race her for Kai Leng. I have a bag of that Ember that is so useful on humans. Falere thought it might come in handy."

Liara nodded slowly. She more than certainly did not want to drug this woman knowing it was Shepard, but she was deadly and they did not need another threat. Besides, they could use it to subdue her and return her to the Alliance and let them figure everything out. No, Liara mentally shook her head, she would not be taking Cayle back to the Alliance, she would bring her home and try and fix it herself.

"Let's go see what we have first." Liara answered.

They traveled down a set of stairs to the level they required, it was only a short trip to the room that was hopefully housing Kai Leng. They could hear the fighting before they even entered. Koylat entered first with Liara at his heels.

The blonde woman, Cayle, was indeed there and was already in the heat of battle. One of the Phantoms lay dead off to the side of the room and the Cerberus agent was head to head with Kai Leng with a second Phantom standing back as if waiting.

The fight was fast, almost dizzying as they beat on each other but it was obvious woman was getting tired and faltering. Kai Leng had that smug smirk on his face he always had. Liara remembered that Cayle was injured.

"What are we doing boss?" Koylat asked.

Liara watched, not sure what to do. Had it been anyone else down there she would have waited and simply eliminated the victor.

"Just hand over the control device, Kai." She heard Sheppard say.

"Now why would I do that, I'm winning." The ex-Cerberus officer said. He was playing with her. She was too injured to keep up with him yet she fought anyway. It just convinced her further that the blonde was indeed Shepard. "I like this, can we call this foreplay?"

The Assassin grunted her response and attacked once again but Kai Leng danced around her attack and punched her on the side of the face. She snapped around and came back firing her pistol. Leng was forced to back pedal and move for cover. Shepard gave him no space though as she charged into him causing them to fall to the ground.

Liara actually smiled as she watch the woman lift bag from Leng's belt and place it on her own. The man had not noticed it as he threw her off.

"Lissa I have the power. The Ambassador can't do anything without the device." Kai Leng said as they circled each other. Liara raised her pistol not liking where this conversation was going. "Come with me and we can beat him together."

"What are you doing?" Koylat whispered.

"She has the device, we get her out of here and we can take it from her." Liara lied. Her heart was beating hard in her chest. She was not going to let this bastard take Cayle away from her, not when she just found her again.

"I'd rather rot in hell." Shepard said. Liara could not help but smiled slightly. ~That's my girl. ~ She thought to herself.

Kai Leng's smile turned into a scowl. Gripping his sword tightly he launched at the woman. Cayle moved back wards ducking from his blade and using her arm plating to block. She smiled slightly as she moved backwards. Suddenly she had a sticky grenade in her hand, Cayle hit him with it and rolled back and towards the door.

"Good night." She said and ran as the Phantom suddenly spurred into motion. Leng was already swatting the grenade away but the blast sent him flying. Liara pushed at Koylat and they used the distraction to exit the building themselves.

"We need to find her." Liara said. She needed to find her. She wanted her Shepard back.


	10. Chapter 10

The water had been cold, but not cold enough to bring her to her senses. The drug that had affected her was still running its course and she was fighting the best she could. She swore, for the millionth time that she would kill Tiem. He had told her about the packages and she had thought they were guns, had she known they were drugs she would never have agreed to deliver them.

Of course what bothered her more was her behaviour. She took a deep breath as she splashed more cold water over her face. Her body was trembling but she was not sure if it was from her injuries, the cold or the withdrawal. Either way she was not in any shape to take on Kai Leng. Not that she had any choice, The Ambassador did not accept excuses and he wanted that device and Leng dead.

She stood slowly, holding her bad arm with her good one and sighed. He should have let her kill him that first day. Then she would not be here, on this godforsaken planet, injured, cold and high on some drug.

She also would not have the memory of kissing that Asari.

It was not just the kiss, which she could easily chalk up to the drug, which she could have handled. Hell she would have maybe even played with T'Soni some more. It was the feelings that came with the kiss, not want and desire like one would expect. They were there but they took a back seat to familiarity of the kiss, the feelings that were attached to it, like love. When Liara had pulled her closer, Lissa had wanted to stay in her arms.

It had scared the hell out of her. She, who once taken on and defeated a Krogan Battle Master. She had eliminated the entire Cerberus council, killed the Salarian Dalatrass, and faced down a thresher maw. One kiss from an Asari and she was running.

She began to pace, then decided that walking to where she needed to go would be just as useful. The whole time she walked she thought about the Shadow Broker, it was driving her insane. She should have killed both her and the Turian back on Earth but she had not been able to bring herself to do it. She should have killed her when she spotted her on this planet but instead she kissed her. Even now, she should be focusing on Kai Leng and all she could think of was Liara and just how beautiful she was. She wanted to blame it on the drug but she wasn't so sure.

"Get a grip." She mumbled to herself as she paused for a deep breath. "Need to concentrate on the job at hand." Kai Leng was here and he was hosting that auction over the extranet. She needed to get to that warehouse Teim mentioned and shut it down. She needed to get that device and kill him and then she could forget about Liara and get on with her life. She certainly did not want to fail The Ambassador.

As Lissa came closer to the factory she moved to her stomach as she pulled her black widow from her back. She waited for it to extend before she crawled to the edge of the tall grass. He shoulder almost gave out twice. She should have taken the time to get it fixed properly. There was only so much that medigel could do.

There was a slight decrease to the factory from the edge of the grass and she had a clear view of the front door. Looking through the site she counted three guards outside of the door and at least two shadows inside. She scanned the rest of the front of the building and there were two more guards. Slowly she made her way around the building making sure she counted all of the guards, watching to see where the weakness was. She found it at a loading bay, two guards and no one else to see them or to see that they were gone. That was her way in.

She moved to a secure location and set up, adjusting her sights slightly. She was just over 200 meters away. It was an easy shot but still not one to be reckless with. She balanced herself comfortably on the ground and found the first guard. He was obviously talking to someone on his communicator as he two fingers pressed against his ear. She waited for him to finish his conversation, watching intently.

~No matter what happens, you mean everything to me Liara. ~ Lissa froze as the words simply invaded her mind. Creeping in like an unwelcomed guess and trashing it. She had never spoken those words before, ever, had she? Why did it seem familiar? Why did they crush her heart to think about them?

"What the hell is happening?" She shook her head. T'Soni was a Biotic, maybe she did something to her, something mixed with that damn drug. "She doesn't mean anything to me." She looked around to see if perhaps someone was there do some weird voodoo to her. That had happened before with the Vorcha they had some weird rituals with blood and dead animals and curses. Not that she believed in it but she had once killed one of their Shamans after he had splashed a bowl of blood on her and told her she was some evil incarnate.

He had gone on and on about her being possessed and evil and some blight on his people. She had been there to kill the leader of this clan so that another, that Cerberus control, would take his spot. She added the Shaman to the list for free. After all, as far as she was concerned, he had attacked her first.

As she looked back to the guards she noticed that the one that had been talking was now walking away, a cigarette hanging from his lips. She slid her hands over her widow, her right hand slide around the grip holding it firmly her finger not quiet on the trigger. Her left hand tucked under her right elbow in support, the butt of the rifle pressing against her bad shoulder. She lowered her head down slightly and looked into the scope. She moved it only slightly until the cross hair met the target, just above the nose cavity to wear the pituitary gland was house. She breathed in slowly calming her mind and her body and as she did she squeezed the trigger. The body fell to the ground unmoving. He shoulder cried out at her when the rifle bucked, but there was nothing she could do, she had a job to do.

She swung the widow around only slightly and let it fall back down to the tripod and set up in mere second. The second target was not in her cross hairs and he still had no idea that his partner was dead. She aimed quickly took the shot, he fell back, wedging himself between some boxes and the jeep. She reloaded the rifle and let it fold before placing it on her back.

Feeling better at getting something accomplished Lissa cloaked herself and ran for the door, pausing to open it and closed it quietly behind her. She was alone in the hallway, slightly surprised there were no guards here. She leaned against the door for a few moments to reapply the medigel to her shoulder.

~Marriage, old age and a lot of little blue babies. ~ She closed her eyes, has yet, another group of words formed unwanted in her head. She had no idea where they were coming from but they were driving her insane. Not just the words but feelings that surrounded them. She threw her head back against the wall wincing slightly. Maybe she was going insane. That Asari had done something to her and she would have to find out what.

First, she had to find Kai Leng. She moved off down the hallway. Teim had given her the blueprints for the building her omni tool gave her the rest of the information she needed to know. He was two levels down and in an auditorium of some sort. She would go to the floor above and hit him from the rafters. LIssa would only chance a face to face with him if she had to. He was the better fighter of the two of them at the best of time and she was not feeling this was the best of times. She was tired and injured and hallucinating.

She moved through the complex her mind was a blur, she almost fell down the stairs as she unexpectedly revisited the kiss with Liara. She stood as still as she could for a few second. "Jesus Lissa, get a grip." She whispered to herself. She realised as she found a maintenance door to a cat walk that she was probably going to have to kill the Shadow Broker. First though she had to kill Kai Leng.

Using her cloak again she moved quietly to middle of the walk but did not have a good view. Kai Leng was wondering but because the building was old and parts had fallen down under neglect she had no clear view. She cursed and climbed down the catwalk to the top level of the seats.

"There you are." She whispered under her breath. She pulled her black widow from her back and quickly brought it to her shoulder. She knelt down to use one of the chairs as cover and support.

He had two computers set up on a table and was talking to someone in a head set, most likely a potential buyer. She looked around for the Phantoms that the ex-Cerberus officer always had with him. She didn't see them, which worried her. However with Kai Leng in the open not expecting her she had to take the shot.

She lowered her head to the scope and was about to fire when suddenly it dark. She opened her eye as she instinctively moved back. The phantom palm came up and fired. She grabbed her widow and rolled but felt the beam hit grace her hip. "Shit." She screamed out between clenched teeth, this day was certainly not getting better. She fell to the ground. She folded up the black widow as the Phantom came at her. Lissa cloaked and moved quickly.

She half ran half fell down the stairs as she struggled to pull out her pistol. She hit the main floor as her cloak fell. A second Phantom kicked her in the face as she did. Lissa flipped backwards and hit the Phantom with her incinerate at almost point blank. The thing flailed backwards. She threw a sticky grenade on it and dove out of the way. She saw the Phantom crumble to the ground when the grenade went off.

As she stood back up and turned around, Kai Leng faced her smiling. "I knew you would come." He said.

"Do we really need to exchange a witty repartee?" Lissa said just wanting to get this whole thing over with. This day just was not getting any better.

"Well, I'm not going to give you the device." He answered his hand self-consciously when to a pouch tied to his belt.

"I didn't think so." She said. A second Phantom appeared but Kai Leng motioned her to stand down.

"I'll take care of this." He said. He looked back to Lissa. "You look pretty beat up already, you sure you're up for this. We could wait a day or two."

"Shut up." Lissa said simply and charged at him. The first round of blows went to her, but it took almost everything she had. He ended it though, with a kick to her injured hip. She slid back and fell down. She flipped back up and sideways as he charged in for the finish and they exchanged another round which left Lissa back peddling and blocking his attacks.

The third round she considered a draw as they both finally landed solid blows. She got him in the eye, cracking that stupid face shield he wore and he got her in the jaw. They parted again.

"Just hand over the control device, Kai." Lissa said.

"Now why would I do that, I'm winning." The ex-Cerberus officer said. He was playing with her and she wanted to kill him for it. "I like this, can we call this foreplay?"

Lissa grunted and attacked again but she was tired now and he easily moved out of the way, punching her in the jaw again as he did. She dropped to a knee and grabbed her pistol spinning around and fired. At this point she was more concerned about getting the device and getting out, then she was winning this fight. He moved backwards and towards the seats looking for cover. She took that opportunity to charge at him and tackle him to the ground. She began to knee him and hit him with her good arm while she lifted the pouch from him with the other and placed the device on her belt. Now she just needed to get away.

Kai Leng threw Lissa off him and her pistol fell from her hand. She scrambled to her feet as Kai Leng circled her. She held her good arm up, ready to fight. He had not noticed he had lost the device.

"Lissa I have the power. The Ambassador can't do anything without the device." Kai Leng said as they circled each other. "Come with me and we can beat him together."

Like that would ever happen, she thought to herself.

"I'd rather rot in hell." She hissed at him.

Kai Leng's smile turned into a scowl. Gripping his sword tightly he launched at the woman. Lissa moved back wards ducking from his blade and using her arm plating to block. She smiled slightly as she moved backwards. She held up a sticky grenade and jammed it into his stomach, then rolled back to the door.

"Good night." She said and ran as the Phantom suddenly spurred into motion. She left the room and jammed a lock on it before taking off down the hall. She was running out of energy fast but she had to make it. She had the device, The Ambassador would be happy.

She cleared the building and headed towards the tall grass. She just slipped into it when she realized she was being followed. She activated her cloak and hide behind a tree. She watched as two figures ran by after her, or where they thought she was going. A Drell and an Asari, 'the' Asari. She cursed, that was the last person she wanted to see. She waited a few seconds before leaving her hiding spot and running after them. They seemed to be heading to her ship.

"Lissa!" Came a call from behind her. She turned just as Kai Leng smashed into her and they rolled to the ground. "You didn't think you'd get away from me that easily." he said with a smile as he pinned her to the ground. He jammed his hand into her injured shoulder, forcing his thumb to tear away the thin layer of medigel, reopening the wound. She screamed out.

The Phantom and two other soldiers were right behind him and she figured this was the end for her.

She punched at him weakly with her good hand but he knocked it down. "Go get the other two." Kai Leng said, the three ran off following Liara and her friend. Kai Leng looked down to her.

"That was a nice try, but I believe you have something that belongs to me." He removed the device from her belt. He then removed her Black Widow and threw it into the grass and did the same for her pistol. "Well, foreplay is over. Give The Ambassador my regards. We all know how much he loves failure." He said and kissed her. She struggled to push him off but no longer had enough strength. He laughed and stood up, leaving her there.

"I don't think we will meet again. If we do, I won't be as nice." He said, with little warning his arm went up, his sword in his hand. It came down into her shoulder and pinned her to the ground. He then turned and walked away.

Lissa closed her eyes as she fought to focus reaching for the sword barely reaching the handle. She looked to see Kai Leng disappear into the factory. She was running out of energy fast. She looked back to where the Phantom and guard had run after T'Soni and the Drell. She pulled at the sword, screaming loudly as it ripped out of her shoulder. It fell to the ground and she rolled to her stomach breathing heavy trying to block out the pain.

"Get up." She told herself. "Get off your ass."

Slowly and painfully she pulled herself up. She looked from the factory to where the Shadow Broker had run off. She had to get that device back. She stumbled to her weapon and placed them on her back she held Kai Leng's sword in her hand, and looked back to the factory. The Ambassador would be unhappy if she did not come back with the device, but T'Soni and company had two mercenaries and a Phantom after them. She needed to get that device off Leng.

However she looked back to the faint trail and simply stood for a long moment. Every logical thought in her head told her to go for the device. She surprised even herself when she started moving down the trail to find the group that was going to kill the Asari.

She thankfully did not have to go far before she heard the fighting. She cloaked and came behind the mercenaries. The Phantom had engaged Liara and the Drell.

"We got them now." One of the Mercenaries said. Lissa placed her pistol against his head and fired as she came out of cloak, a quick turn and a squeeze of the trigger took out the second mercenary. She moved forward walking purposely firing at the Phantom. It charged back, twisting and turning annoyingly like they did. She hated the Phantoms. When it stopped in front of her she jammed Kai Leng's sword into its stomach. It bent over slightly then looked up to her. She placed her pistol against its head and fired feeling warm blood splatter over her face. The Phantom slid down to the ground.

As Liara approached her she brought the pistol back up.

"Cayle." Liara said. Lissa looked at her for a long time; she was now struggling with consciousness as the adrenaline slowly seeping out of her system. She could barely hold the pistol up.

"I've had enough of this place." She said as she fell to her knees, dropping the gun. Liara ran over to her and caught her before she could hit the ground.

"I got you." She heard the Asari say before she completely lost consciousness.


	11. Chapter 11

I would like to thank hot_heart for helping me with this chapter and pointing out some of the issues I have...

* * *

The phantom had come out of nowhere. She had been sure they were heading in the same direction as Cayle but instead, of catching up with her, this Cerberus monstrosity showed up, attacking Koylat instantly. The young Drell had been forced into a defensive retreat. Liara moved to help him when she heard a commotion from behind her, two of the mercenaries were aiming thier firearms at her. She quickly threw up a barrier which left her unable to aid Koylat.

The Drell was a great information broker but he was not the fighter that his father was. She watched as the sparks flew off her barrier and, when she had a chance, she released it. She needed to take care of them so she could help Koylat before it was too late.

She clenched a fist, feeling energy flow through hand and was about to throw the pair. She noticed a slight movement behind them then a head exploded a spray of blood covering his counterpart. There was a shimmer and Cayle was behind them, her gun moving to the last mercenary and dispatching him as well. Shepard lookedpast Liara to the Phantom.

Liara noticed the Spectre was covered in blood, and she knew it was not just from the mercenaries. She was barely standing on her own feet. She had seen Cayle in enough battles to know she was barely hanging on. The Asari thought for a moment of intercepting the Phantom as it moved towards the woman she believed, whole heartedly, was Shepard.

Cayle moved forward, firing her own weapon as the deadly Phantom charged at her. In the end it was Cayle that remained standing, as the Phantom slid off a sword that Shepard had been holding. Liara found her feet were not moving as fast as she wanted them. She was still slightly in shock that the Cerberus assassin, Cayle Shepard, had come for them.

She could only stare as the information sunk in. The woman was beaten and bleeding and barely able to stand, but she had come for them, for her. Tears crested her eyes and she fought them back as she moved, Shepard was falling.

"I've had enough of this place," Cayle said as she fell to her knees, dropping the gun. Liara ran over to her and caught her before she could hit the ground.

"I got you." Liara said as Shepard fell into her arms. Her eyes were closed but she was still breathing. "I got you my love, and I will never let you go this time," she said looking up as Koylat approached.

"Liara we still don't know if it's her," he cautioned. "I know you want it to be…"

"I know," she said defiantly. "It's her. She would have never come to our rescue if she was truly some unknown Cerberus agent. I don't know what they did to her, but we can make this right."

Koylat moved to his knees beside them and began to remove the woman's armour. "She is hurt very badly Liara." Koylat looked up into her eyes. Liara barely heard him as she held the woman she loved in her arms. Her mind was racing in a million different directions and her emotions were overwhelming her.

"Liara," Koylat said more firmly. "We need to get her to a hospital. She is beyond what medigel can do."

Liara looked to him almost lost. Now that she had Shepard back what did she do with her? "We can't lose her," she said. "The Citadel?"

"Ok, but we need to look at some things here," Koylat said. He was not used to being the one in this position, not with Liara anyway. The Asari was always in so much control; she always knew what she was doing and always planned two steps ahead. "Firstly she is wanted by the Alliance for several war crimes, including the assassination of the Salarian Dalatrass. Secondly she is a Cerberus Assassin wanted by several other races. Thirdly, if it is Shepard and Cerberus did do something to her, they will most certainly want her back."

"There is nowhere safe," Liara whispered running her hands through Cayle's short blonde hair.

"I have an idea. I will have Mouse go and get your ship. Then, I know you hate the place, but we will need to go to Cronos Station. It's the only thing I can think of."

"Miranda," Liara whispered. She looked back down to Cayle. As much as Liara was not fond of Miranda, Shepard had always thought of her like a close sister, akin to a best friend. Liara could never figure out why Shepard was soft on the woman, and had always been a little bit jealous. Miranda was more like Shepard than anyone else she knew. She remembered just how happy Cayle had been when Miranda had finally decided to work with the Alliance. She had always believed the woman was capable of great things.

"She knows Shepard inside and out, she rebuilt her, and she will be able to fix her now." He paused. "And we both know she would never tell anyone."

It was true, they could trust Miranda. Miranda would fix Shepard and she would be able to figure out what Cerberus had done to her. Liara nodded slowly and Koylat stood up and moved away. They were not far from Cayle's ship with the working communicator.

She looked down at the sleeping form of the woman that had disappeared five years ago and she couldn't help but think of that fateful day, of Shepard leaving her on the Normandy…

"No matter what happens, you mean everything to me Liara," she said as she climbed back up the ramp and took the Asari's hand in hers. She looked deeply into Liara's eyes. "You always will," she whispered and cupped her check and kissed her briefly on the lips.

Liara could barely even form words. "Shepard, I, I am yours," she managed but could not get anything else out.

Cayle released her hand and smiled. "I know."

Liara leaned over and placed her lips over Cayle's, not caring about the blood and dirt that covered them. "I am yours Shepard, always," she whispered. "We'll get through this, me and you. I love you."

* * *

It had taken them the better part of two days to reach Cronos. It had been touch and go, with Shepard's vitals all over the place. Liara had not left her side; she was terrified too move, half convinced herself that if Shepard left her sight, she would lose her again. She had not slept and had barely eaten. To make matters even worse, she had still not been able to get her emotions under control. Twice now, she had almost called Tali and Garrus but resisted, afraid of her communications being tapped into.

Falere had pretty much left her alone but she knew the other Asari would soon start to bother her about taking care of herself. They knew each other too well. Liara would sit by Shepard forever and Falere would nag her forever.

Liara stood and moved over to where Shepard slept. She had cleaned her up as best she could and changed her into a gown so that Miranda would be able to work on her as soon as they arrived. She ran her fingers through her hair and leaned over. She kissed her on the forehead careful not to jar her too much.

"We're almost there, my love." Liara whispered to her. "I'm going to eat and shower so Falere doesn't disown me. I'll be back as soon as possible. Do not go anywhere."

As she stepped out of the room, Falere looked up from her post and smiled. "She won't go anywhere." Falere assured her. "I promise."

Liara nodded and moved to her own room peeling off her dirty clothes. She stepped into her hot shower and leaned against the wall.

Five years, it had been _five years_. She had always insisted Shepard was alive, but she had her doubts at times. She knew they would be able to really confirm it at Cronos. Miranda would have Shepard's DNA somewhere. Not that Liara needed that; she knew the woman in the other room was Cayle. She just figured everyone else would need the proof.

She was right next door, in the room right next to hers. _Five years_. The hot water began to mix with tears, as she felt the emotion that had been building up in the last few weeks burst out of her. She fell to her knees, arms wrapped around herself.

Five years of believing she was alive, of longing to see her again. It was as if her life had been on hold and now she had that chance to really live again, with Cayle. The emotion overwhelmed her as her forehead rested on the floor of the shower, she could no longer control them,fight them. It had been dark but now the light was back. So many memories and dreams and desires put on hold. Every feeling she went through in the last five years flowed out with the tears.

Finally she took a deep breath and looked up to the shower head, enjoying the warmth of the water over her skin. Slowly, she stood as her cries steadily ebbed and only her slight headache remained. She was back, Shepard was back, and Liara would never let her go this time, even if she had to limp behind into some unknown beam.

She quickly cleaned herself off, then dried and got dressed into some clean clothes. As she headed to the door, a slight panic built up inside of her. She knew her thoughts were foolish, but she could not help herself. She ran from her room into the med bay, stopping at the door. She looked from Shepard to Falere.

Falere smiled gently. "She is still here."

Liara smiled back and felt a bit more at ease. Falere approached her and gave her a hug. "We are at the station and have been cleared to dock. I thought I would wait for you."

Liara nodded and gave Falere a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, for always being here for me," she said. Falere smiled again and left the room. Liara moved back to Shepard's side and took her hand between hers. "I'll be back very shortly, love, I just have to go and make some arrangements." Again she bent down and kissed Cayle this time on the lips, before leaving the room. She wanted to talk to Miranda face to face. This was a huge bomb she was about to drop on the woman.

* * *

"You found Shepard, and she's alive?" Miranda repeated slowly. She was leaning against her desk in her office. In typical Miranda fashion her arms crossed over her chest. Both she and Shepard had a tendency to do that. Shepard did it when she was being defensive; for Miranda it was a natural pose. "On your ship, but she's been working for Cerberus. She was the one that killed the Dalatrass."

It sounded odd as Miranda repeated everything that Liara had explained over the last ten minutes. She imagined it had sounded even worse for the ex-Cerberus officer since she was hearing it all for the first time. She watched as Miranda loaded Shepard's DNA on a flash drive.

"I know it's unbelievable and incredulous but it's true. That is why we came here, we had nowhere else to go and we knew you would help her." Liara explained as they turned and made their way to Asari's ship.

"If that is truly Shepard, I will be there for her. Have you done blood work?"

"I was afraid if I accessed her files it would raise flags. You would have more of a reason to go into her files than I would. You brought her back; you could just say you were going over your old research."

"It's pretty secure here; the Alliance has pretty much left me alone to control this station. It does have all the Lazarus files. There could be a million reasons why I would open them." Miranda agreed.

They paused for a moment at the lift, Liara looked around. "She is very badly injured. Can we trust your doctors?"

They continued to make their way to the ship. "Most of these Scientist and Doctors were on Gellix. They owe Shepard their lives. I will pick my best people."

Liara nodded. As they got closer to the ship she felt that panic hit. What if she went back to the med bay and Shepard was gone? She took a small breath as they approached the door to the ship. Miranda looked to her but said nothing. "I just, keep expecting her to disappear."

Miranda simply nodded to the woman. It was not hard to understand. Liara had lost Shepard twice now; it was natural for her to be worried, maybe even paranoid. She, however, would keep an open mind until the test was over. Unlike Liara, Miranda believed Shepard had died on the Citadel; that the woman had sacrificed herself in some way to end the war. To her, it was the only way it could have happened. She had grieved and she had moved on.

Not that she didn't miss the Spectre, and nor did she think the galaxy was a better place without her. Shepard had been just about the only friend she ever had. Sure, she had acquaintances and work mates. She even had her share of bed mates from time to time, but she had never had someone like Shepard.

The woman had truly believed in her, even after Miranda had treated her horribly. At first she had been jealous. All that money and time poured into the Commander, into an unknown who easily could've backstabbed Cerberus the first chance she had. But, over time, she realized that Shepard was more than a commander. She truly was a leader, a person one would follow into hell and back. Shepard cared about those she served with, those she was close with. Hell, she had hardly even known her when Shepard promised they would save her sister. Miranda had not expected that. It was not something Cerberus would have done.

Then Shepard had shown her that she was more than what her father had built. She had been so hung up on the fact that she had been made to be perfect that she failed to see that she had surpassed what her father built. She had become her own person, and she wasn't perfect, but she was what she had become. Shepard had believed in her and trusted her and it had never had anything to do with her genetics, they were never important. Not like they were to the Illusive Man. Shepard had shown her a better way and she had taken it. It had been rough at first but once she had found her step, it had been more than worth it.

She really had no idea of where she would be now had she stayed with Cerberus. She knew she would never have helped the allied forces defeat the Reapers. She would never have been offered this position on Cronos nor had trust in her like the Alliance showed. She might not have all the resources she had with Cerberus, but with the Alliance she did not have to constantly check her back. The people were here to help her, not wait for her to fail.

She owed all that to Cayle Shepard and if this woman was her, she would do everything in her power to bring her back.

"You think Cerberus has done something to her mind? That she thinks she is this assassin." Miranda asked outside of the med bay. Liara nodded. "When we rebuilt Shepard, I could have done that. It was an option as well as putting a safety control chip in her head. Whoever did this to her must have had my research. There were problems with it though." She said, moving into the sick bay. She stopped in her tracks and looked at the woman in the bed. She was pale and damp with sweat.

"How long has she been like this?" Miranda asked as she moved over and began performing several checks.

"Two days, we were on Horizon," Liara said.

"You should have come here sooner. We need to get her into our clinic immediately." Miranda looked to her, comparing her quickly to her memory of Shepard. Give her black hair and those steely blue eyes and yes, it would look like her. She took a quick DNA test and let it compare to the sample she had brought while she continued her check on the woman before her. "Her blood pressure is very low, she's in hypovolemic shock."

"I know, we've had her on an IV for fluids but we don't have anything for the require transfusion. I am not that type of a Doctor," Liara defended. "I stabilized her the best I could, but medigel can only do so much."

"You did well." Miranda reassured her, only looking up for a second. That was a lesson she had learned from Shepard. Once upon a time, Miranda would have berated her shortcomings. "I'll do the rest." The DNA test chimed as Miranda swung to the top of the bed. She covered the woman's head so no one would be able to see her. Before she unlocked the brakes to the bed, she picked up the DNA tester. Her eyes widened.

"It's her," she whispered. "It's really her." She spurred into action and hit her communicator. "Bren, I'm going to need you and Dr. Fraser to meet me with a trusted team in Medical Room one. We have a thirty- six- year- old female, five-foot-six, roughly one-hundred-and-forty-pounds, in hypovolemic shock. We have multiple traumas, across the shoulder and hip area." Miranda moved to the top of the bed and began to push. "We'll take care of her, I promise, Liara."

"I can't…" she paused. Of course she couldn't go with Shepard to the operating room, but she was certainly going to follow them there. "I will go as far as I can." She looked to Miranda. "I'm not getting left behind again."


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry bout that mix up earlier in the week but I erased a chapter and then screwed it up when I re uploaded and then it went to the wrong order and blah blah, sorry if I wasted your time showing up. Also sorry it took me so long for this chapter. I wasn't really sure what to do with it so I just did what a fellow write suggested, it's better to leave early…

Liara sat down the hall from the room they had wheeled Shepard into. She had watched intently from a window for the first hour but eventually began to fight sleep. It had been days, after all, since she had closed her eyes. She didn't think she would ever feel tired, especially after Miranda had made it official, the Blonde Assassin was indeed Shepard; Liara had not needed a test to know that.

As she drifted in and out of reality she couldn't help but think of all the things she had Shepard had talked about, all the plans they had made over their time together. They had both talked about children, or lots of little blue babies as Shepard put it. Liara was not really old enough in Asari terms to have children, not that she could not, most tended to wait until they were older. The problem was, Shepard's life span could not wait for the Asari Matron years and Liara was not willing to pass up the opportunity.

Her sleep was light and she woke at every sound. They had Shepard now and she was being worked on by the best, but Liara could not help but feel their safety was fragile. Cerberus was always an unknown, especially now when no one knew who was heading it up and what their capabilities were. They had been operating behind and impenetrable curtain which was only now, starting to open.

The Alliance had wiped out a few labs and military basis over the last five years. Liara could only wonder if that was Cerberus allowing the Alliance to clean house. They had all seemed like left over forces from the Illusive Man. The military bases just house a few troop and husks.

Liara shivered at the thought. The Alliance had the husk in safe keeping at several facilities; some of them were even here, on Cronos. No one quite knew what to do with them. They had been human once, could they be again, would they want to be? It was a horrible fate. They had top scientist from every race working on it. Even Miranda had her hand in trying to save them. It had been five years since the war, though, and no cure had been found. The Asari could only wonder what would become of them if no cure was ever found.

Her eyes closed slightly and when they next opened Shepard was looking down to her, smiling. "You are beautiful when you sleep." She said. Liara could not help but smile back. She let Cayle take her hand and help her to her feet. They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment. Miranda had managed to get the Spectres blue steely eyes back but her hair was still short and blonde.

"I never believed you were dead," Liara whispered. "No one would listen to me."

"Doesn't matter Blue, I'm here now." Shepard ran her fingers along Liara's cheek to her crest and down to her neck, moving much closer as she did. Her other hand snaked around the Asari's waist and pulled so that they were firmly locked. Cayle tilted her head down kissed her, her soft lips almost melding into Liara's

Liara felt her mind move in a million different directions. It was like an explosion of emotions. She was coming alive after being dead for five years. She could not even try and hold back the little moan that escaped her lips into Shepard's as her own arms wrapped around her lover and held her tightly, afraid to let go.

"I love you Cayle." Liara whispered.

Shepard did not respond, her lips pushing harder to the point where they began to hurt. Liara opened her eyes and they widened as Shepard changed. Her hair began to fall out beneath the Asari's hands and her skin began to turn blue. Her eyes widened and the blue turned to white as Cayle turned into a husk before her eyes.

Liara wanted to scream but Shepard's mouth still pressed against her own, opened and scream of the Banshee filled her ears.

"No!" She shouted as her head fell out of the hand it had been leaning on and she nearly fell out of her chair. The hallway was empty and quiet, save the beating if her heart and deepness of her breath.

"Goddess," she whispered. It had only been a dream. She sat up and looked up and down the hall before finally standing. With her arms crossed over her chest she moved back to the window. Miranda was sitting by a computer, doing something while two other masked Doctors work on Cayle.

She lay naked on the operating table and Liara spotted several scars already covering her body. Shepard had never had scar. Miranda and Chakwa's had healed all of them. This must have been from the explosion of the catalyst. Whatever doctors had worked on her then, had not had Miranda's expertise.

It did not matter though, she could have been so marred that no one would recognize her and Liara would still love her. It was what beat beneath the skin and bones that Liara had fallen in love with. Shepard's laugh, her unyielding sense of honour and duty, her loyalty, they were all a part of the woman she loved.

She would never deny the physical attraction of Cayle Shepard. The woman was beautiful with thick black hair. Hair was something Liara had never thought of before. She had been in wonder the first time she had felt Cayle's hair, how soft it was and how her fingers felt when they slid through it, like sliding over silk. Then there were Cayle's eyes, it was perhaps those eyes that had first roped her in. Liara had never seen eyes so intense and telling at the same time. There had been many times she had lost herself in those blue orbs. Even after that, there was her smile, that lopsided grin she seemed to hold for Liara in special times. It always made her melt when Shepard grinned at her.

She leaned her forehead against the glass as she watched the Doctors work. It was so painful to just stand here while the woman she loved was just beyond the window fighting for her life.

Liara could not help but wonder who would come out of the surgery. Cayle Shepard or the blonde assassin and if it was the later what did she do, could they turn her back to the woman she loved or would she give her to the Alliance, or could she. She turned away and began to pace, wringing her hands together. Could a meld bring back her memory or would that even be a good idea. She must have had some memory, Cayle came to her rescue, and the blonde assassin would never have done that.

"I brought you some food," Falere appeared from an adjoining hallway with a tray. "The food here is not really the best but you need to eat."

Liara looked to the tray and scratched her head. It was human food, not that she didn't like human food, but they liked to put a lot of fat and preservative in everything they ate. Liara was not a fan, except that cotton candy stuff from the fair. She made a face and looked back to Falere as she picked up the apple and the small bowl of fruits.

"Humans have weird taste," Liara said and smiled. Falere smiled back instantly.

"You need to do that more often," the older Asari said gently. Liara looked to her, lost. "Smile, you have a beautiful smile."

"I am happy," Liara looked to the operating room door, "and terrified all at the same time. What if she never remembers who she is, or who I am, or that she loves me, or that she hates Cerberus?"

Falere laughed slightly. "Well let's go one step at a time. First she needs to get through the surgery."

"If anything, that's the least I am concerned about. Honest, I have absolute faith Miranda will save her. She brought her back from dead after all."

"What about Kai Leng, and the device?" Falere asked. Liara looked to her.

"I do not know if I really care about that at this point," Liara answered honestly. Falere finally rested the tray on a table and took the bottle of water, handing it to Liara.

"So you willing to trust the Alliance with the most important device in the Galaxy right now, you do remember Ashley is looking for it as well. Not to mention that it is presently in Kai Leng's slimy hands."

Liara looked to her for a long moment. She really did care what happened, but unfortunately that was highly overshadowed by Shepard returning to her. She wanted to wait and talk to Cayle and maybe even go after the device together. "I can't just leave her, I just found her."

"Do you think Shepard would give up?" Falere hated to pull this card, "or that she would want you to let this wait when the fate of who knows what, hangs in the balance."

No, Shepard would never give up, she never gave up. No matter what, Shepard always did what she needed in order to get the job done. She even ran into a beam that she knew would probably lead to her death. She went on a suicide mission to the other side of the Mass Relay knowing she might not ever come back. She went after Saren in the Citadel knowing it was falling apart around her. Liara knew exactly what Shepard would tell her if she was here.

"I'm lying in a bed not even truly aware of who I am. I'm going to be here for a bit and we don't need you here waiting and doing nothing when you could be saving the universe, " Liara could hear Shepard's voice as she thought those words. "And with me here, Cerberus is out of the equation."

Liara truly believed what her imaginary Shepard was saying to her, she just wanted to shut her out. "I don't think it's a good idea to leave, not until I can talk to her."

"That might not be for a while," Miranda said moving away from the door of the operating room. She stood between Liara and Falere. "She will be physically fine. I have worked with far less before. I have some issues with whoever rescued her from the Citadel and healed her but she will be fine. "

Liara smiled. "Will I be able to see her?"

"It's going to take the better part of a week. I am going to need to replace the hip, how she managed to even move I don't know," Miranda ran her hand through her hair. "She has a lot of old scars I want to go over as well."

"Will she wake up?"

"I don't think so, not am I going to push for waking her up. She's believes she is some Cerberus assassin and I am on the top of the list for wanted in that organization. I think I will just keep her sleeping until we can deal with the whole affair of the mind."

"Do you think we'll get her back?" Liara asked, hopeful. "She did come to our rescue, which must mean whatever Cerberus did is breaking down."

"I won't know until we wake her up," Miranda said. "Whatever they did was not internal, nothing has been added to the brain. If I had to guess I would say hypnotism. I've seen Cerberus do it before, they use it on their sleeper agents and they are very good at it."

"Then we can go and deal with Kai Leng," Falere said. "And let Miranda do her job."

"Kai Leng?" Miranda looked to the other Asari. "That bastard just refuses to die, what is he doing now?"

"Cerberus has Harbinger," Liara announced. Miranda's eyes widened only slightly. "But Kai Leng has something that they need for their research and since they tried to kill him, he wants to use it against them."

"It's too bad I am needed here, that is a rematch I would love to visit," Miranda remembered the last time they met very well. She had survived, but the affair had been cut short. She had not left it unscathed.

Liara looked back to the door then to Falere. "Do we even have anything to go on?"

"Koylat and Mouse tracked him back to Earth, but they are not sure where."

Liara looked to Miranda, "Can I say goodbye?"

Miranda nodded. "I can give you two minutes."

Liara nodded and looked to Falere before heading into the operating room. She bit back a trembling lip as she looked to the tubes and needles that were stuck into all sorts of places. Again she eyed the scars on her body as she moved to her bedside. Her eyes watered but she didn't cry, not in front of Cayle. The woman needed strength.

She reached out slowly and ran two fingers over the large scar on Shepard's neck. How many times did this woman need to die to save the galaxy, how much more did she have to give before there was nothing.

She was a warrior in the truest sense, always going into battle without even looking back. If she felt fear it was never for herself. She always worried about her crew and about their safety. For Cayle it was always about helping others. Liara could only hope when this was over that would end and Shepard could finally have that life of peace; they could finally have that life they always talked about.

"Well," she said and took Cayle's hand gently in hers. "Here I finally have you back and I really don't know what to say." She reached out and caressed her lover's cheek. "I always left the epic, motivational, speeches for you. I know you don't remember who you are, that Cerberus has messed around in your head, but I also know deep down you know you love me and that I love you. When you came after us, to rescue us I knew it."

"You're safe now. Miranda is here and she will fix you up, she's pretty good at that. I have to go and save the galaxy in my own little way because I know that is what you would want me to do. You started the destruction of the Reapers and I want to make sure it is finished." She paused and looked up to the ceiling for a few seconds trying to stop the tears from flowing. "When I get back we will get you back to normal somehow. I will never give up on you Shepard, never. You just fight and get better." She bent over and kissed the sleeping woman on the forehead and released her hand. She silently kicked herself as she headed out the door. It was certainly not the romantic speech she had wanted to give but she had said what she needed.

She looked to Falere and Miranda in the hallway. "To Earth," Liara said regretting it instantly. Was it wrong to want to be selfish and stay with Cayle, probably but she couldn't help it.


	13. Chapter 13

No one really ever cared for the state of the slums in Toronto. Seeing small children wandering about was simply a part of life. If they were lucky they would get picked up and placed in an orphanage. Half the building had been condemned for more years than anyone could remember and police refused to come anywhere near the area.

This had led to the power of the gangs. People needed someone to turn to and for small favours and future consideration the gangs would or would not help you. This had also led to war, at least, in the Toronto slums it did. At one point it had been controlled by one large gang, the Bloods. They had ruled the streets through death and violence. Anyone who dared opposed them were always made a sample of. They favoured using a person's head as a deterrent and hung them around their headquarters as a reminder of the price of defiance.

Lissa had only been a baby when they had split into two factions. The Blood and The Mongols, the latter being some sort of homage to a long dead gang from hundreds of years prior. Since the split the slums became nothing better than a war zone, especially at night.

Lissa's mother had not been a part of the gangs; at least that was what she had told herself. There had never been anyone to tell her differently. She had never met her father. She remembered he mother as a beautiful woman, with blue eyes and soft hands. They lived in an apartment building and rarely ventured out. She would sing and dance and play hand games with Lissa all the time. On occasion Lissa still remembered the little verses they would sing. Cece my playmate was her favorite. She remembered her mother combing her hair, braiding it and teaching her how to brush her teeth.

Lissa loved her mother, but unfortunately her strongest memory was sitting in her blood holding her hand, screaming for her to wake up. To this day she had no idea why her mother was killed or who killed her. She just remembered sitting by her mother's side for days until one of the neighbours finally came to check up on them. From there she had lived in nine foster homes before joining the Bloods.

That was when Cerberus took notice of her. She had a knack for being at the right place at the right time. She could shoot more efficiently than anyone in the gang and her infiltration ability was honed well beyond her years.

She had not really chosen the path she had taken. She had to specialize in something that would be useful. She knew that, if she didn't excel in something then the alternative was a whore house wired on drugs. Lissa had her fling with drugs, for about six month, lived life in a haze and what happened in that six month, she still could not remember. Not that she wanted to anyway.

She had become well respected in the Blood Clan by the time she was sixteen. They relied heavily on her for eliminating targets. She had never failed. They paid her well and gave her the best equipment. They had even forked out enough money for an Omni tool. She always did what they asked quietly and with no complaint. She had been saving her money so she could someday leave the slums.

It turned out she had not needed to. Cerberus had hired her just before her seventeenth birthday and trained her further. The Ambassador had personally over seen her carrier. When they first met, after her training, he had been her handler. She had gone on hundreds of missions with him. He was her partner and biggest supporter.

For the longest time she had a crush on him. He was not the biggest man she had ever met but he was ruggedly handsome. He had a thick full head of brown hair, grey soft eyes and a voice that could sooth the wildest person. They worked out together all of the time and he was in very good shape. He was beyond charismatic. He always understood what she was going through and was a shoulder to lean on in times of need. Working as closely as they did it was only a matter of time before they took a chance on a relationship.

The chance had not lasted longer than two months. It didn't take long to realize they were only were good friends. Shortly after he had gotten promoted and started to move up the political ranks of Cerberus. He took her with her but over time she became no more than a subordinate. He had changed so much, especially since the fall of Cronos.

Lissa knew the trail her life took; she had lived it, hadn't she? She didn't understand the strange images flashing through her head now and why did it seem like it was breaking down. Worst of all, why was this Asari infiltrating her dreams at an alarming rate. It wasn't that she hated Asari; quite opposite she always found them quite exotic and attractive. Liara T'Soni had always been on the top Cerberus' wanted list. The Illusive Man had once tried to take her mantle and she knew The Ambassador wanted it as well. The Shadow Broker was perhaps the only person in the world who controlled more power than Cerberus and they simply could not stand for that.

It would only be a matter of time before The Ambassador went after the Shadow Broker. Once they got the device back from Kai Leng and he used it for whatever it was it was used for, the Asari would be next. Lissa was rarely allowed in on the big picture. She was more than happy finishing the jobs she was given. Or she had been anyway, until she had actually run into Liara T'Soni.

Now Liara invaded her dreams and Lissa was not sure she disliked it. It was erotic and comforting and the Asari was always gentle and kind, something Lissa was not used to. Not that she needed it, she was a survivor and gentle and kind were two words not found in the definition of survivor. Until now she had never felt the need to be anything more than that.

She knew she was dreaming when she felt the Asari's hand on her stomach, her fingers softly caressing and moving slowly, tantalizingly, towards her breast. Liara's lips were on her neck, just behind her ear and the sensation was sending tremors through her entire body. She felt a soft tongue around her lobe and she moaned before she could stop. Every fibre in her body told her this was so right. It was the feeling of pure love that scared her. She loved this woman, deeply but she didn't know why. She didn't know her but she wanted her, more than anything.

"I am yours," the Shadow Broker whispered softly into her ear before kissing her on the lips. Lissa felt her own hands slide over the Asari's slightly textured skin, resting on her buttock as her other hand moved to the sensitive crest folded over her head, her fingers caressing and exploring. She could not help but smile as Liara gasped.

"I know," Lissa answered the woman as they kissed. She felt Liara's hand moved lower down her stomach and lifted her hips. She almost didn't hear the brash clanging in the back ground. It continued to get louder as Liara slowly disappeared.

She wasn't content anymore either, pain shot through her entire body. She groaned and jerked into a sitting position, only to fall back down in even more pain. She screamed out.

"Commander Shepard, you're not ready to get up," she knew that voice. Forcing her eyes to open she looked about the room. She recognized the Doctor in the room but struggled with the name. Bren something, she was not sure. She really had no idea what she was saying.

The brash clanging continued and Lissa started to choke, something was in her mouth. She reached for despite the hands that were now trying to grab her. She coughed and sputtered but reached it before she could be stopped and pulled it out.

"What the hell." Came another familiar voice but she could not see who it belong to. Too many people were trying to hold her down. She was coughing now.

"She woke up before we had a chance to extract the tube," Bren called out as she put all of her weight on Lissa's left arm. Someone else had her right arm, which was holding the tube that had been in her throat. It was then she spotted the Alliance markings on their gowns.

"You need to stop Shepard before you hurt yourself even more," a woman with dark hair finally came into view. Miranda Lawson looked down to her, eyes filled with concern. Miranda Lawson was wanted by Cerberus, preferably dead. That meant she was on Cronos Station. Lissa hated Cronos station; she had almost died here five years ago. The Assassin pulled hard on her right hand and screamed out in pain. She had forgotten she had been injured. She used her left hand to yank the IV out.

"She's going to hurt herself," Bren said looking to Miranda. The man holding her left hand spoke up.

"She's going to hurt us; that's what I'm worried about. She is strong; she shouldn't be able to put up a fight like this."

"I've called for security but we are under attack, we're not going to get anyone," Miranda stated with a scowl.

"You…" Lissa finally managed to call out. She grabbed the man by the neck and threw him into the woman she knew as Bren. The bed toppled and she landed on the floor. She realized she was naked. Before the man could get up she kicked him in the face and he slide back to the ground. She looked up to Miranda.

~And Miranda, be careful, ~ she heard herself say, it was like a dream playing in her head.

~I promise. ~

Lissa froze for a second. She didn't hate this woman; in fact there was something familiar about her. She shook it off and charged at her, forcing her to the ground and wrapping her hands around the woman throat.

"Shepard," Miranda croaked. It wouldn't even take Lissa a second to twist the woman's neck and end everything. Her hands shook but she found she could not bring herself to do it. Even worse her hands loosened on the traitor's neck. She should have killed her already but she couldn't.

"Stop calling me that," Lissa hissed at her. She noticed the woman was holding up her hand, stopping someone behind her. She did not acknowledge it though. She clenched her teeth and struggled, she was a traitor she needed to die; didn't she?

"That is who you are," Miranda said, "Hero of the Blitz, Saviour of the Citadel and," Miranda paused, "My best friend."

Lissa scowled but her words seemed to strike a chord deep within in her. Images flowed through her head. She had worked with this traitor, been friends, she could see unclear images and even more unclear feelings.

"Grrraghh," Lissa screamed and pushed herself off the woman, spinning around and kicking out at the soldier that had been behind her. She hit his hands causing the gun to fire into the air and she threw her body into him. It was hard, she was still in a lot of pain, but she had been healed a bit.

They fought for the gun for only a few seconds as Lissa landed several knees into his body. She followed it with a precise head-butt and grabbed the weapon out of his hands as he fell, she pointed it at him.

"Shepard." Miranda called out and Lissa paused and scowled. Instead of shooting him she ran for the door and out and paused outside.

"Shit." She said as she spotted her reflection in the glass of a fire hose. She moved back into the ICU room and looked about as everyone stared at her. She looked to Miranda for a second before grabbing a hospital gown and leaving again. She put it on as she ran, it didn't cover her completely but it didn't leave her open either. The clanging sound was getting annoying but she knew that meant someone had come to rescue her. She just needed to find them.

She moved through the station heading for a docking bay, the whole time praying someone didn't fire a ship in her direction this time. Five years ago that was what had almost killed her.

Five years ago the Illusive Man had been indoctrinated. He had bastardized everything Cerberus had stood for and funneled most of their money to his projects. Out of that he had built Sanctuary. It had explained to the Cerberus Council that the Illusive Man would be trying to save those that had been turned into husk. They also wanted to use the technology that would be developed to enhance the performance of soldiers. The husks were stronger than the normal human and never seemed to tire. Cerberus wanted to find a way to use that to advance their troops.

What the Illusive Man had done was unthinkable. Not only was it even morally beyond the bounds of Cerberus, it was done behind their back and it had wiped out thousands of the people they had been fighting to better. Cerberus had never stood for the death and destructions of humans at that rate and that was what the Illusive Man had done. Most of the time they relied on volunteers.

She had been sent to kill him and take over his operation until The Ambassador could figure out a way to use this to his advantage. Unfortunately the Alliance struck shortly after she had arrived. Not that it mattered; the Illusive Man had already vacated the station. She was on her way back to her ship when the wall in front of her blew open, she didn't remember much after that.

Funny enough she just remembered waking up in a hospital room with tubes sticking out all over her. Something like what just happened.

She was moving slowly but it hurt to walk. Her hand went down to her right hip and as she pulled the gown away she noticed the large fresh scar. The Phantom had gotten her with a blast in the hip. It had been repaired, but it was still hurting. Her shoulder did not feel much better. She should be sleeping this off but she was damn if she was going to stay in this place.

She moved into the shuttle bay where the fighting seemed the heaviest. She noticed several Cerberus soldiers bunkered down behind their ship and she blinked. For a second she saw an Alliance shuttle there with herself behind it, fighting against Cerberus.

"Shepard you shouldn't be here," a black soldier came towards her, concern on his face. Jacob Taylor, he was wanted as well. She pointed the assault rifle towards him.

"Call off your troops, Taylor," she said. "Tell them to get out of the docking bay. When it is clear I will be going with my rescuers and I will let you go."

"What…"

"Do it Jacob," Came Miranda's voice. "Let her go."

Jacob looked from Lissa to the ceiling then back to Lissa. She raised her rifle a little more.

"This is Taylor to Beta squad retreat from the docking bay, I repeat, retreat from the docking bay." He said into his omni tool. Lissa motioned for him to move aside. He reluctantly did so and she moved around him. She moved towards the dock as two Cerberus soldiers came into view.

"Do not follow us." She said even though she knew they probably would. She backed up until she was in the middle of them.

"It's ok Ma'am, we got you." One of them said. Lissa nodded and allowed him to help her stand. They moved backwards back to their ship.

She wanted to smile, to feel relieved that The Ambassador had sent a rescue. He would be cross that she failed in her mission but he also knew that she would make it up to him.

The soldier loaded her into the small ship and it lifted off the docks. She looked back as it left the area and could not help but think she did not belong here.


	14. Chapter 14

The stench of human depravity was strong. It was something Liara was not used to. Even the poor and unfortunate Asari in Thessia were treated with some sort of respect. They gave their needy food and clothing and the necessities to survive. They even had education centers so that the children may have a chance to make something of themselves. Of course that was before the war. Now the children that were less fortunate had been placed in homes. It offered them food and education still but came with a price. When they were old enough, they would have to assist in the rebuilding efforts or join the Asari commandos.

In this same vein those families that had lost everything in the war were given a home but also had to assist in the rebuilding of Thessia. Buildings were replaced and wounds were healed and within twenty years, they predicted Thessia would be back to normal.

Earth was not the same. It was bad before the war and became even worse after it. It was sad because most parts of the Human home world were beautiful and they had a lot of open land and waterfalls and their conflicting seasons were marvellous. The biggest scars were the slums attached to most of the larger metropolitans. The rest of society tried to ignore them, aid was sparse and gangs took most of it. They gave it out as they saw fit, which left a lot of people to fend for themselves. The slums had the highest rates of birth as well as the highest rates of death.

Liara looked down to her foot as it pushed forward over the cracked and broken road beneath it. It was a good symbolization of the cracked and broken area she was about to enter. Shepard had been born here. She had never known her father and her mother had been killed when she was five. She had seen that when they had melded.

It was a memory that Liara had ever been able to truly cope with, nor had she even been able to get Cayle to talk about it. On occasion she had nightmares about the young Shepard, covered in her mother's blood, holding her hand. The human had never screamed nor cried out; she had simply held her mother's hand and asking her mama to wake up.

Cayle refused to talk about it, Liara had her memories but it was something Shepard had never come to terms with, she had never tried. Liara had never really had time to really talk to Shepard about her past. They never really had enough time together.

Now hopefully they would have that time to talk, to go over everything in both of their lives. They could have their own little blue children and maybe that would help Cayle come to terms with a past she wanted to forget.

She was confident that they would be able to help Shepard get her memories back. If they could not do it the normal way Liara could embrace her and meld again. Whatever walls Cerberus had built were already breaking down. She had felt that when they kissed.

"Humans stink," Javik said as he walked beside Liara. He had met her as soon as she landed and advised her that there was a contact in the Toronto Slums that had been dealing with Kai Leng. The Bloods were the ruling gang in the slums but there were still territory wars with the Mongols. Since the fall of Cerberus the Bloods had lost quite a bit of territory but still held power. Cerberus had always supported the gang in return for test subjects and information. Now they were struggling, still the top dog in the area, but without constant supplies they had to rely on themselves for resources.

Liara smiled thinly at Javik. The Prothean always spoke what was on his mind and he was biased in every way. Not that she could blame him. He had seen the downfall of his people but not been allowed to participate in it. Instead he had been preserved, with an army for future domination. His army had not made it and Javik was alone.

When Liara was a child she used to dream about the Protheans. She had dedicated her entire life to studying them and learning all she could. She was the leading expert on the long dead race. At least she was, until Javik arrived. He had immediately disproved everything she had believed in. She had always had this wonderfully naïve vision of them. She had never imagined that they assimilated races, leaving those that refused to join them to die. At first she had blamed Javik for everything that was wrong with the Protheans. She had expected so much from him when he woke and was bitterly disappointed.

It had had taken her a long time to forgive him, even though there was nothing to forgive. He was simply a warrior, much like Shepard. Javik, unlike Shepard, wad not open minded. It wasn't his fault that was just the way his culture was. Even he would admit that Shepard defeated the Reapers because the races learned to work together and bring their characteristics to the war. This did not allow the Reapers to learn their attack strategies; they had not been able to focus on the individuals that made up the whole.

Javik had not fared well after the war was over. He had taken the death of the Commander harder than Liara had expected. He had told her once that he had honestly believed that she would have made it out alive. With Shepard one always expected the impossible to be possible. He had started talking about death and joining his people. Liara had offered him a better choice and he had started to work for her.

He was not the most subtle information gatherer. Most people knew who he was and who he worked for. Instead, Liara used him as an enforcer. He ended up being very talented at extracting information for those that did not wish to part with it. He was also good at keeping some of her more elusive contacts in line. No one wanted a visit from the Prothean.

"Did you ever tell Shepard this?" Liara said with a slight smile. She would have taken offence to the words had she not have already found the woman she loved.

"Shepard did not smell, not like this," he said simply, not looking to her. She had told him about Cayle and she wasn't sure but she could have sworn that Prothean had grinned ever so slightly at the news.

Shepard always emanated a slight strawberry scent. She was not vain, in fact she wore very little make up and none when she was working, but she always smelt of strawberries. She also showered a lot, sometimes three times a day. Liara knew this was mostly psychological and linked to her youth. Liara never questioned this quirk as she sometimes she liked to join the beautiful human in the shower.

"This is where Shepard grew up, believe it or not," Liara said and looked around.

"I can see why she left," Javik looked to her. "This is a pathetic waste of life. The Humans have no idea of how to take care of their own. This should be a work camp and the people used to do useful things. Like what the Asari have done on Thessia."

"Not everyone is perfect Javik. Thessia recovered fast but we forced labour on our people, paying them with food and little else."

"You give them education and teach them a purpose," Javik defended.

"But we took away their indivuality. We took away their choice and freedom. They can either be a builder or a commando. At least here people can be what they want to be."

"Here people can be what the gangs want them to be or they can be dead. I do not see that has being better," Javik looked to her. "I am reminded once again at how different you and I are."

Liara smiled. "That is my point."

Javik let out a grunt as they continued on. "We are being watched."

Once upon a time these 'slums' were only populated with humans. Since the war there had been smatterings of Turians and Krogans that had not returned to their worlds, on occasion one would even find an Asari. Most of those that had stayed behind were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and the human government had no way of helping them. They could barely help their own soldiers.

Liara and Javik still stood out, the Prothean more so than the Asari. "Most of these people have never seen the likes of you before," Liara pointed out.

"Mouse's contact better have good information because I do not know if I will be able to wash this stench out of my armour."

"It was my contact that place Kai Leng heading to Earth," this was more a caution then information. Javik was far too opinionated on everything. "We are almost there, this is Bellwood's park and the rec center should be on its east side."

"I see it." Javik said looking at the small gray building. As they moved towards it Liara noticed a small group of children playing in some shallow pool, splashing water on each other. She could not help but smile as she heard their laughter and squeals of delight. It was the first she had heard since they had entered this area.

Mouse had told her the old community centre was merely a shelter for women and children. It was in Mongol territory but the gang left it alone for the most part. They used it for recruitment, when the children turned sixteen the gang would then begin to enticed them to join their folds. Because the centre was a good source of recruitment, it was protected.

That didn't mean that there was not fear. Liara did not even need Javik's sensory abilities to feel the fear. They were strangers and did not belong. These people knew that. They stopped when they reached the front of the building and looked around. The contact was supposed to meet them here it should have been easy to spot him. The only male humans were children. He should have stuck out. Javik looked to his omni tool.

"He is late."

"We are late." Liara pointed out. Before she could say more someone cleared their throat from behind. The pair turned.

"Can I help you?" The man asked. He was bigger than Liara had expected, almost as tall as Javik and built like James. His skin was pale and red rimmed glassed covered his eyes. He wore a jacket made of denim with a black shirt underneath and black pants that flipped down over the tongue of his shoes and then below the back of his heal. Liara looked to the torn and ripped cloth that was tucked slightly under his foot then back up to him. She wasn't sure if she liked this man yet.

"Yes I am looking for Ringo." She said. The man nodded and motioned for them to move inside the complex. They followed him.

"Our residents are to remain outside during the day. That gives us time to clean and prepare diner for them." Ringo said admitting that they were basically alone. Liara had to admit, the place was cleaner then she expected. "We're one of the better homes. There is a long waiting list for people who want to come here."

"I can see that." Liara said as Javik remained silent. She had not brought him with her to start beating a confession out the man. She needed him encase the man decided not to give her the information, that and she needed someone to watch her back.

"Where were you planning on opening the second shelter?" Liara asked. That had been the cost of the information. It was a price Liara had no problem paying. It got her the information she wanted and helped out those that needed it at the same time.

"There is a church on the other side of the park that has been abandoned; it has an old community hall attached to it as well. We would be purchasing that and then cleaning it out. We would be able to bring in at least fifty families. As promised we would name it after Shepard." He said.

Liara nodded, "And your contact?"

"He told me that there was an auction already but that when most people had been out bidden,the remainders were to meet and it would continue there." The man said.

Liara hated third party information, but she could understand what the Mongol would not want to be seen with them. "He said it was deep in Blood territory, some old apartment building on Spadina," he handed them an envelope. "That is the passwords and the credit chit he used."

"Very good, consider the church, yours. I will purchase it and have a representative come to you as soon as it is done. Thank you," she bowed slightly as she spoke. "And keep up the good work," she handed him a bigger envelope. "This is for the informant."

Liara's omni tool went off as she handed the man the money. She looked and the message was marked urgent, she looked to Javik then the contact. "Is there somewhere private I can talk?"

The man nodded and ushered her into his office. He closed the door to give her privacy while he stood with Javik. "So you are a Prothean?" the man asked as they walked away.

"So it would seem," was all Liara heard Javik respond. She smiled slightly, and activated her Omni tool. She was slightly surprised to see Miranda. The surprise quickly turned to worry.

"Is Shepard ok?" she asked feeling a slight shake in the pit of her stomach.

"Well, she certainly recovered quickly," Miranda answered but Liara could sense there was so much more.

"Miranda," Liara growled.

"We were attacked by Cerberus, Liara and," Miranda paused for a moment, "and I'm afraid Cayle escaped."

Three days, Liara thought to herself. She had only been gone three days. Liara tried to get her emotions under control but anger began to boil. She almost could not talk. "How?" she barely choked out.

"We must have had a Cerberus spy, or they knew you would have brought her here or who knows. Liara, I'm sorry. There was nothing we could do, but we are tracking her now, I managed to get a tracer on her."

"Find her." Liara said between clenched teeth and deactivated the tool. She gripped the desk in front of her, her knuckles turning light blue as tears slowly made their way to her eyes. If Cerberus had Shepard they could reprogram her and Liara might never get her back. The table began to shake under her grasp. The door opened and Javik stood in the doorway. The Asari's biotics were charging all around her.

"Is everything all right Liara?" He asked.

"No," Liara barked out as she let go, her power unleashing from the very center of her sole. Her stomach was the ignition point for the bomb she had become as her power shattered the room and that sent Javik flying.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Lazarus Station was by far the most advanced medical station in the Cerberus arsenal. It had been nothing but a shell of its former self after the Illusive Man had abandoned it. The Cerberus Council had debated for month on what they wanted to do with it. It seemed as though they were more interested in scrapping it for money than finding anything useful for it. So many people had died during the Lazarus project.

The Ambassador had managed to convince the council that the technology was sound and that it was something worth resurrecting. There had been a long debate but in the end he had kill off the old council and replaced it with Cerberus agents who agreed with his vision and they agreed to let him have it. The Ambassador had sent his best men to secure it, then repopulated with his most brilliant scientist.

Most of the notes and plans for the Lazarus project had been destroy. There had not been enough left to recreate what Operative Lawson done. He had not been interested in that anyway, not at the moment. Instead he opened it up to his people, let them research what they wanted. If the project was good enough he would grant them resources, if it wasn't he would move them on.

One of his scientists had created an Omni patch for the eye. It was still in the testing phase but even the Ambassador had already had one installed. It was its own computer and when it was activated it looked much like an orange tinted visor. It could not enhance defence or weapons like the regular tool, but it could gather and analyse information, search data bases and had facial recognition as wells as telescopic and night vision advantages.

So far the only drawn back to the tool was the occasional headache and they were working on sorting that out. When it was marketable he figured it would rake in quite a bit of funding for Cerberus.

Lazarus station had also been the place of Commander Cayle Shepard's second rebirth. Although this time she had been reborn as Lissa, Cerberus Assassin and for three years she had worked for him personally. She had never failed and never questioned him. Not until recently, when the Asari, Liara T'Soni had found her.

When he had sent Lissa to Earth to take out the Salarian Dalatrass he had never imagined anyone would see her, let alone the Shadow Broker. Lissa had told him about their meeting, about how she and the Turian had been at the high rise when she left, she had felt some connection to T'Soni. The Ambassador knew he should have had her reprogrammed right then but knew that would bring suspicion.

Now, things were a mess. Kai Leng still had Harbingers control harness, Lissa had been taken to Cronos and Miranda Lawson, and he was beginning to worry about his control of Shepard. If worse came to worse he would kill her. It would be a sad day, he had grown fond of the woman, but she was expendable.

The Ambassador had always had several agents and spies working in the Alliance and C-Sec. He would never forget how luck had favoured him when one of his people had located Commander Shepard. She was very badly injured but alive. It had been amazingly easy to take her body in the confusion and get her to Lazarus station.

The next part had been harder. He had the best team working on fixing her. Her injuries had been horrible but she was still alive. A lot of her armour had been fused to her body and her spine had been damaged in many places. She arrived on Lazarus she was a quadriplegic and blind. It had taken the better part of two years to heal her and to program her with a new life.

The first six months had been the worse. She had woken up many times with confused memories. She remembered being the defiant Commander who should be dead. There had been a few times she had talked about being dead. His Doctors had been wearing Alliance uniform so she would not know she was on a Cerberus facility. Many nights she had woken up calling out for T'Soni. At the times when the pain was unbearable she would beg for the Asari to come and be with her.

The Ambassador had even found and Asari to play the part, but even blind, Shepard had known it wasn't her.

Has the procedures continued Shepard called out for her lover less and less and his Doctors programmed her with the memories he had designed. Soon she woke up calling for him, her mentor and best friend and even once, almost lovers. He had left most of her childhood alone, changing only a few details in her teenaged years. The doctors had recommended that, a little bit of truth mixed in with deceit would solidify the process.

They also left a lot of her moral compass in check; he had been warned that she would truly have to believe in what she was doing. She had believed the Salarian Dalatrass had left the human race out to dry, that the woman had withheld the Salarians from the battle because Shepard had not bent to her will. She believed that executing her it would set an example. Next time the Salarians would join the others. If the assassination caused a war, then so be it. The Salarians were expendable, if the humans didn't wipe them out then the Krogan would. The Krogan were always looking for new home worlds.

Sending her to kill Kai Leng was not a problem either, a lot of people wanted the arrogant bastard dead anyway. His crush on Lissa was more than annoying.

The Ambassador had been livid when he found out Lissa had failed to retrieve the control harness, but that was quickly overshadowed by the fact that the Alliance had her on one of their facilities. Then he had learned that she rescued T'Soni instead of killing Leng and it all fit together. Her programming was breaking down.

The rescue team had landed in Lazarus only a few minutes ago and he waited patiently, listening in to the conversation. He sipped lightly on his Tholian brandy as his patients slowly began to unravel. A knock on the door to his office brought a snarl to his lips.

"Enter," he said and watched as a well armoured man entered the room.

"Sorry sir, we have just received word that Kai Leng is somewhere on Earth. I have a team that can go in and find him."

The Ambassador continued to listen to the chatter at Lazarus as he snarled even further at the armoured man in front of him.

"Find him, kill him and bring me my harness," he said, "If anyone gets in your way it's acceptable collateral loss."

"Roger," the man said and left the room. As he did the confirmation finally came.

"We have the package," Came a call from one of the commandos from Lazarus, "Returning to the shuttle now."

The Ambassador stood and moved over to a round plate to the left his table. He paused for a second then activated the holo emitter. He found himself looking at the back of an older man.

"Doctor Bateman." he said calmly. The man seemed to appear startled and turned around.

"Ambassador, it had been awhile," the Doctor replied and stood to his full six foot seven frame. A frame that had earned him the nick name Lurch. It had always surprised people that he turned out to be one of the leading cognitive –behaviourist and hypnotherapist in the galaxy. Of course his father and his fathers-father were also 'Hypnotist' so it was only natural that he joined their ranks.

He had been found by Cerberus in his first year of University by the Ambassador himself. He had been awestruck by how easily the tall man could control a person. The Ambassador had never really thought of using the skill before but watching the young Doctor over the years had convinced him of its usefulness.

Doctor Hans Bateman had graduated the top of his class and the Cerberus agent had no idea if that was because he had actually made the grade or had everyone believing he had made the grade. It didn't matter really, the man was a genius. The Ambassador had been a little concerned when the man had expressed an interest in the indoctrination process, not that he could blame him. It was his area of expertise. The Ambassador had made a deal with the man and brought several indoctrinated Cerberus agents to him to let him figure out what had been done.

His research had helped him in his complete control of Shepard, until now.

"Hans, Lissa is going to be coming to Lazarus very soon. I want you to oversee her recovery personally."

Hans raised a brow, "Sir?"

"It appears as though we may have lost some control over Shepard. She had a run in with her former lover, T'Soni and I am she compromised her last mission to save the woman."

The tall doctor grunted. "I told you this might happen. We can control a lot of her behaviour but we cannot make her do things that Shepard would think was deeply morally wrong. Seeing T'Soni is not a good sign either, but there would still have to be more. Was she injured, drinking, drugs anything like that? That would weaken our hold."

"She was badly injured, but Lissa doesn't drink and I doubt she would do drugs," the Ambassador said.

"Usually losing control would be the results of a series of unfortunate events," Hans explained, "Drugs, injuries, seeing a loved one, specially T'Soni. I had a tough time getting around the bond she had with that Asari, almost failed because of it."

"Maybe we should have created a bond for her, a human, maybe even a female," the Ambassador mused out loud.

"It would not have matter that it was; her bond with the Asari was strong. Her natural instinct to protect kicked in. I will have to work further on that."

"Yes, she is coming to you soon," Again the Ambassador paused. "If we cannot correct this issue then we will have to terminate her."

"Sir?"

"Shepard cannot be allowed to live. She was not just the greatest warrior humanity had. She was the greatest warrior the galaxy had. She might have been human but she fought for everyone, Turians, Volus, and Asari, all of them. If Shepard returns she will become our greatest enemy. She took out Saren and the Geth, Harbinger and the Collectors and defeated the Reapers. She also wiped out the Illusive Man and his entire branch of Cerberus. If we cannot control her we must kill her. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Ambassador," the large man said.

"Do not disappoint me," the Ambassador concluded, disappearing from the Doctors sight.

* * *

Lissa winced as the shuttle touched down in Lazarus Station. She had pulled some stitched in her bid to escape and her hip was still plenty sore. The running she had forced herself to do had not really helped the healing process. Her hospital gown was covered in blood.

As the doors opened she was greeted by two medical doctors and Doctor Bateman, which was weird. The last thing she needed right now was a psychologist, not that she really talked to him a lot anyway. She had assigned appointments with him that was mandatory and she hated them, but every Cerberus operative had mandatory appointments with his office. She always felt they were counterproductive and a complete waste of time. If she had wanted to talk to anyone of her problems it would not be Bateman.

Not that he was bad, he certainly did care. He seemed enthralled with her being an assassin and just what mentality it took, almost like she was his personal test subject. She wouldn't be surprised if he someday wrote a book.

One funny thing about her appointments though; she always felt as though they accomplished nothing but she always left feeling refreshed and better about herself. Maybe it was the incense he liked to burn.

The other Doctors held a stretcher between them and helped her get on it, one of them already lifting the gown she was wearing. He shook his head slightly as his onmi tool appeared and scanned her. The other doctor secured her and began to push her back to the medical center.

"Well, Lawson did a good job in healing that hip and the shoulder is solid." He said to her. "But you probably should have stayed in bed. The exertion tore open the sealing on your hip."

Lissa smiled. "I'm not sure what staying still mean."

"No kidding." The man said. Lissa struggled to remember his name, which was strange, she never forgot a name. Especially not his since they had flirted before. They had even gone out on a date or two.

He was young and handsome and brilliant. Perhaps one of the greatest Doctors Cerberus had employed. She remembered that he graduated medical school at a stupid young age; he was classified as a genius. She liked his rebellious shoulder length hair and his intense but soft brown eyes and he certainly had the hands of a surgeon in more ways than one. She could not remember his name. She tried to remember their dates, him kissing her but it wasn't him. She could only see the Asari. She would remember them touching but all she could envision was soft blue hands. She gave it up.

They swung into the medical center and into a private room. Once there they removed the gown and did a complete scan. The young Doctor came towards her with a needle.

"No," she said, holding up a hand, "I don't want to be put out, just freeze the area." She said. The Doctor looked to the other two.

"Sounds good, I see no problem with that," he said but Bateman moved over to her.

"You sure, Lissa, it could be painful, I mean, you have been through a lot," The older Psychologist said. Lissa shook her head.

"If I freeze the area she shouldn't feel anything," Lissa finally spotted his name badge, Derek Hill.

"Fine," Bateman said. He looked from Derek to the other man, "When she is fixed up let me know."

"Sure will," Derek said watching Bateman leave. "That was weird."

"He's always weird," the other Doctor said and sunk his needle into the fleshy area near the injury.

"Creepy," Lissa gave her own opinion. She lay down and tried to relax as the two doctors worked on sealing the damage she had done to herself. A nurse came in and attached an IV to her arm as she tried to relax. She was home and safe, wasn't she?

She closed her eyes and tried to remember her last date with Derek. She had not wanted to go but the Ambassador thought it would have been a good idea for her to mingle. She had not really dated anyone in years, not since the fling the two of them had.

Derek had been funny and cute and had a wicked sense of humour. He had made her laugh throughout the date. The first time they had dated he had walked her to her quarters and like a gentleman, kissed her good night and left. The second date he had ended up in her quarters and there had been more than kissing.

She smiled as she thought of that night. He had the most amazing soft and talented hands. She almost found herself getting excited as she replayed the scenario in her head. Derek had soft lips but he was an aggressive kisser. He managed to find all of her weak spots quite quickly and was amazing at exploiting them.

As she continued to day dream of their date, she realized that slowly he began to change. His red lips turned to a deep shade of purple and his hands were blue. She tried to stop the day dream only to find that at some point she had fallen asleep. As Derek entered her she found that he was no longer present and Liara was suckling her neck, her arm stretching down over her stomach. Her body arched to allow the woman access to her and she shuddered and groaned as she accepted it. This was what was right; she felt that with her very soul. She didn't know why or how, but it was what should be.

Lissa felt as though she had actually become a part of the Asari as she continued. Wave after wave of electricity and fire threatened to consume her has he body was no longer in her control. Just when she could not take it anymore Liara looked into her eyes. "Embrace eternity, Cayle" She whispered.

Lissa jolted awake, her heart thundering in her chest, a thin layer of sweat covering her body. Her breath was heavy as her body was still recovering from the powerful sensations Liara had worked her into. "I love you." She said to nobody, but was envisioning the Asari. "Why do I love you?"

~Because you are Shepard, ~ her conscious finally spoke up.

Before she could even counter that thought the door to her room opened and Doctor Bateman entered. "Oh good, you're finally awake."

"Finally?"

"You have been sleeping for more than a day. We were starting to get worried," Bateman explained.

"A day!" she pulled the covers aside and stood up; she had to grab the bed for balance. Her hip did feel better than it had though. She looked to him as all sorts of thoughts ran through her head. Like the fact that she could never really remember her appointments with this man. It had never really bothered her, until now.

"Lissa, you need to get back into bed," the doctor was trying to sooth her but that only made her more worried.

~You are Shepard, ~ the phrase was echoing in her head.

"Why can't I remember?" She yelled at him.

"Remember what, Lissa , what are you trying to remember?"

She looked about the room and spotted a syringe. She had no idea what was in. She grabbed her IV stand and pulled it behind her as she moved over closer to it. She knew she was home and that she should feel safe, but she didn't. If anything the feeling of danger hit every part of her body.

She looked back to him and noticed, for the first time, the watch he wore. It wasn't a watch but some sort of soft light used to distract a person, and he was using it now. It all suddenly came together. He was a psychologist, an expert in behaviour modification.

~You are Shepard, ~

He had done something to her. He had blocked her memories. She reached for the IV and tore it out of her hand and then grabbed the syringe. "I am Shepard," She shouted at him, "do not call me Lissa."

Her mind was going in all sorts of different directions. She knew she was Shepard but her memories were those of Lissa's. Maybe it was Lawson that had done something to her. It would be easy to believe that if she could stop thinking of Liara T'Soni, if the love she felt for the Asari was not so powerful. "What have you done to me?" She said, not looking at the man.

"Lissa, it's not what we have done to you." He cooed and aimed the light at her again. She jumped and grabbed his wrist, twisting it hard, causing him to spin. She slammed him face first into the wall. She brought the syringe up with her other hand.

"I am Shepard." She growled into his ear. "What have you done to me?"

Bateman only smiled calmly. "Baby mine…"

"Stop!" came a call from the door way. Both eyes switched to the new comer.

Miranda stood with a firearm pointed at Bateman, Jacob Taylor stood behind her, watching the door. "Don't you say a word unless I give you permission, do you understand?" The Doctor nodded wordlessly. Miranda moved closer.

"Shepard?" She looked to Lissa.

"I don't know." The assassin answered honestly. She felt vulnerable for the first time since she was a child. She did know though, that for some reason she could trust Miranda Lawson.

"That's a start, anyway," Jacob said with a slight smile. Lissa looked to Miranda.

"Put down the syringe and we can get him to restore your memory." Miranda promised.

"I have no idea of what you are talking about," Bateman protested. "What have you done to her?"

"It's over." Lissa/Cayle hissed into his ear.

"Jacob seal the door," Miranda directed then moved over to the Doctor and place her pistol against his lips. "You know exactly what I am talking about and you will restore her memories or I will show you pain unlike you have ever felt before."

"If I give her back her memories, I'm dead anyway," Bateman said. Lissa/Cayle knew this was true, the Ambassador did not suffer failure well and this would be a huge failure.

"Please, don't take me with you," Lissa/Cayle said. There was silence for a few minutes.

"All right, I can release her. It will take some time and you have to promise to get me out of here."

Lissa/Cayle looked to Miranda and let the syringe drop from her hand. She let the man go and stepped away.

"You will need to sit down. This will take a little while."

* * *

Cayle was not sure how she should feel. The Doctor had finished five minutes ago and she was still struggling with what he had done to her, of how he had changed her memories of how he had control her. It was ingenious how he had amalgamated her past to fit Cerberus' need, changing only small bits and pieces at the beginning and more as needed.

Her thoughts were all over, she thought about what she had done as Lissa. The people she had killed, the lives she had ruined. She had killed the Salarian Dalatrass. She had disliked the woman, but not enough to want her dead. She thought of her relationship with the Ambassador and shivered. He had made up that past. She had never had a relationship with him after all. It was odd though, she still had feelings for him even though she was no longer Lissa. Not strong feelings, not like the feelings she had for Liara, but she had come to like the Ambassador, he treated her well and fair and she was always her favorite.

She remembered everything, everything from both lives and it was a tad bit confusing. One thing that was not confusing was the catalyst and the choice and the pain. She remembered waking up and being unable to move or see. She could hear people close but her chest felt compacted. She could only whisper as she called for help. She remembered floating in and out of reality and then finally waking up as Lissa.

It was quiet in the room as the small gathering allowed Shepard to adjust to new revelations and she looked from Miranda back to Bateman. She looked to the ground and Liara floated into her head and everything began to finally focus. Liara, the woman she loved more than anything. She needed her and wanted her now. She looked back up to Miranda, standing out of her chair.

They had all been chasing Kai Leng. His little robot girlfriends had gone after the Asari and Cayle had rescued them, but they had not received the control harness, which only meant that Liara was quite possibly going after it again, alone. Cayle was not sure Liara could handle Leng on her own. Her heat began tightening as she thought of all sorts of bad things that could happen.

"Where is Liara?" She demanded.

* * *

**Yeah I'm going to take a break for a bit. I'm going through one of those lack of self confidence phases and am getting the impression that I'm not doing as well as I though I was, which effects the muse. Anyway I will get something out when things get a little bit better.**


	16. Chapter 16

**OOC: Back and throwing this up before I chicken out and rewrite the whole thing. It didn't go the way I expected at all so... hopefully it doesnt suck to bad. Fell free to let me know if it did or didn't in a PM or review...**

To say she was angry was an understatement. It had taken every ounce of her will power to not go after her lover; she was no longer used to trusting others. She had to rely on herself for so long. Miranda had assured her she had a plan and Liara needed to trust in that. Shepard had been taken to Lazarus Station and no one knew that station better then Miranda Lawson. She had designed it and had a hand in building it and then used it to save Cayle after her first "death". She had to have a little bit of faith.

Kai Leng's meeting and the device took president. It was important that she keep whatever it was out of Cerberus hands. It was important to keep it out of everyone's hands until she could figure out what it did. Last thing she wanted was a rise of the Reapers. She would destroy it before she allowed that to happen again.

Liara had just over a day till the last of the auction would take place and she actually took the time to wander the streets her lover grew up in. It was depressing and dirty and a shame that the Government did nothing to help these people. Seeing Cayle's home did a lot to help Liara understand the drive and ambition that Commander Shepard possessed.

He mother had been killed when she was only five or six, Cayle could never remember. What she did remember was her mother singing to her. The young Shepard had been riding a bicycle she had found and fell and scrapped her knee. She had run home and her mother had bandaged it for her then soothed her by singing her favorite song. They were on the couch together when the robbery happened.

The murderers had been looking for some drugs but Cayle contested to this day her mother had none. Liara would never argue this point as Cayle still had a five year olds perspective of her mother. She had sat holding her mother's hand, covered in her blood for over a day and a half when a neighbour finally came to check up on her.

From there Shepard went to numerous different foster homes. Some she liked some she didn't. More often than not they could not handle her. The first couple of years after she had been found Cayle didn't talk, and then when she did she had a speech impediment. Eventually she found her way into the home of a teacher; the woman taught her how to read and helped her with the accent Shepard had developed. She did not last long there as the teacher's oldest son had developed an infatuation with the girl and behaved inappropriately. When this had come out into the open Cayle was sent back to an orphanage.

From there she finally gave in and joined the gangs. Cayle had done well in the Bloods, climbing the ranks quickly with every kill she made. Liara did not even need to read her lover to know how much she abhorred this time in her life. She had become a weapon wielded by people she hated. It was a necessity; her only other option was becoming drugged out hooker and she refused that. She didn't want anyone touching her at that point in her life. She had still done many things she had not been proud of.

Liara knew Cayle's life as much as Cayle knew hers. They had shared both throughout several melds. She knew how Shepard had ended up joining the Alliance. How she had a target that she simply could not kill. She had been tasked to eliminate an Alliance officer that had been fighting the Bloods drug trade. Shepard had never known his name or never run into him after this.

She had followed him for days, learning his patterns and way. When she had finally found a spot to set up on him she had not been able to pull the trigger. She had watched him through her scope, playing with his children, pushing them on swings. She watched him from pretty much the whole day. It was when she packed up, never taking the shot that she had run into Anderson.

He had spotted her on his way to visit the Officer and was closing in to stop her. Instead of arresting her, he took her under his wing and the rest was pretty much history.

Thinking of her lovers past, she could not help but notice all the children that would not make it and all the children that had already fallen into a life of destitute. No wonder Shepard hating coming back to Earth at least to this part of Earth.

Liara had been working on getting Cayle to bring to a beach on Earth. She had seen them in vids and read about them and had always wanted to visit one. She had actually planned on doing such last time she had come to Earth, but circumstances had gotten in the way. She had also wanted to hike through Plitvice Lakes National Park with the Spectre. It was rumoured to have a number of beautiful natural waterfalls. Someday, hopefully, she would be able to.

Spadina was the Eastern border of the slums. A wall had already been built separating the street in half. On the west side was poverty and on the East side the exact opposite. As a matter of fact it was quite glamorous. It was amazing how many people paid to be so close to the slum. There were several tall hotels along the streets that overlooked the wall. It was sickening to Liara.

It was in the largest of these hotels that Kai Leng had decided to have his auction. He would be in one room and the prospective clients all in separate rooms but on the same floor. Liara looked to the key and the bidding number she had received as she made her way up to the eighth floor. She really did not have a good feeling about this. Neither did Javik who liked to tell her this every few minutes.

"I do not like this," he said as if he was reading her mind. Liara smiled slightly.

"Yes, you have mentioned that before, several times," Liara commented.

"I would like it slightly more if my arm was not broken." He accused, the Asari was uncertain if that was meant to be playful. Javik's humour was dry, period.

"I'm sorry," Liara looked to him, "It was reflex, I could not control my angry and you opened the door at a bad moment."

"Perhaps you need to work on your self control."

She had no argument for that; she had almost thrown him through a wall. She simply nodded as they elevator stopped and she stepped out to the eighth floor. It seemed empty and she figured everyone had probably been given a different arrival time so they would not know who they were betting against. Liara was not sure if she liked these arrangements. It also meant she didn't know who she would be up against if everything went south. She could imagine who was here, who had the money for something like this.

She herself, as the Shadow Broker; Cerberus, but she doubted Leng would have invited them, the Eclipse sisters, Blue Sun and the Blood Pack. As for races she could very well see the Salarians and perhaps the Volus, the Turians, Humans and Asari were still deep in debt. Either way there was going to be a lot of fire power on this floor.

The odd couple moved to into their room and closed and locked the door behind them. They both set their bags on the beds.

"I do not like this," Javik repeated. "We will not know who is in the rooms on either side of us, or what they have planned. We are trapped."

Liara moved to the balcony and opened the door. "That is why we brought the rope with us. If worse comes to worse we go down, but I don't want to do that without the device."

"I understand" Javik said and began to go over his weapons. He still favoured his particle rifle, which was nice since he was the only one that had one. It had been in his stasis pod with him and it never left his side. Liara did not rely heavily on weapons and as such she carried a much smaller shuriken. They both had their biotics to rely on as well, but Liara was much stronger then Javik in that regard.

As they loaded and prepared Liara could not help but feel a lot of people were going to die today. She just hoped Javik or herself would manage to come out alive. She had mouse and Koylat two floors down in case of emergency. If everything went wrong they would use the ropes to go down to floor and come up from that direction.

She smiled as she holstered her weapon.

"I do not see anything humorous Liara T'Soni."

"I was just thinking, if Shepard was here she would have started firing as soon as she got off the elevator. Everyone would know she was here."

Javik nodded. "She was not one to be subtle."

"I remember after a mission once, we called for Steven to pick us up and he mentioned just following the smoke," Liara trailed off.

"I am sure that ex-Cerberus agent has rescued Shepard," Javik said after Liara had grown quiet.

"If anyone could it would be Miranda," Liara said trying to convince herself. She should have known that Cerberus would have come for their "toy". As much as she wanted to pin all of the blame on Miranda she couldn't.

"Mouse could not get in the indivual room to set up the cameras but he did get quite a few in the hall way." Javik explained and he handed Liara an ear piece. "You can hear him through this. He will be able to tell us who had come in."

Liara turned her equipment on. "Mouse, are you there?" she looked to Javik, "don't you think they would have some plan against this. I mean if not, I am sure everyone is probably doing this."

Javik shrugged.

"Boss, good to hear you," Mouse replied. "Well, got some bad news for you. On one side of you are Krogans and on the other side a group of Turians, I'm going to guess Blue suns, but they are not in uniform."

"Krogans, which side?" Javik asked.

"If you're looking at the door they would be on your right."

Both Liara and Javik turned in that direction. "That wall is not going to hold them back," Liara said. Javik simply nodded.

"I would think the bathroom would be the most secure place. The Krogan would charge through the wall in the middle and shots usually go centre mass. If anyone is in the hall they will shoot through the door."

Liara nodded. "Any sign of Leng?"

"None," Mouse said. "I saw him go in last night but not to the eighth floor. Koylat is trying to hack into the hotels computer to see if he can find him."

"He had a half hour, tell him to hurry," Liara moved into the bathroom and sat on the toilet provide, Javik leaned against the counter.

"If he is not on this floor, then perhaps we can get off this floor and move to another."

There was a knock on the door. Javik and Liara looked to each other.

"Mouse?" Liara asked.

"It looks like a hotel employee, human, female," there was another knock. Javik held up a finger and moved to the doorway of the bathroom. He reached out with his long hand and covered the peep hole with his fingertip. As he did the door almost exploded as if it was hit with a shot gun at close range.

That was when it all went to hell. Someone crashed into their room through the wall. As predicted, it was like paper to the Krogan. There was gun fire from down the hall of other factions sprang into action. Liara could not help but think that Kai Leng had planned this. This was not an auction but a survival of the fittest.

"Mouse where is he?" Liara growled. Javik stepped out of the bathroom and shot the woman who had been at the door. Liara stepped out the other way and threw out a singularity at the Krogan. They were three doors away from the stairs. There was an explosion somewhere down the hall. The hotel was going to get torn apart.

"He's in the penthouse. He signed in under the last name Surebrec," Mouse finally reported, Liara rolled her eyes. Liara and Javik left the room running for the stairs. "Barricade," Mouse shouted. Liara turned and did so as a barrage of bullets slammed into the invisible wall. Javik returned fire as two Turians dove for cover. The other end of the hall was merely a gapping maw and flames. The fire alarm started going off.

Liara turned and pushed herself through the door to the stairwell, "Javik!" She called. The Prothean joined her. "We're going up."

"That's 15 flights." Javik said. Liara smiled at him slightly and began to run. She knew they would not be able to run up all 15 flights and the fact that people were now coming down did not help.

"That bastard is probably up there laughing at the chaos he started," Liara said with a scowl. Javik did not answer as he struggle to go up through the people. Occasionally someone would tell then they were going the wrong way. It took them the better part of ten minutes to make it up to the penthouse. Liara was out of breath and stopped. She could hear screaming from below and the sounds of gunshot. They had not been the only ones to figure out where the device was.

As a matter of fact the destroyed door told her they were not the first and they entered together, almost back to back only to find themselves in the middle of some sort of standoff. Kai Leng and a Phantom were standing by the doors to the balcony. There were three Cerberus troops, two Krogans that were not Blood Pack, three Eclipse sisters and two other Humans Liara didn't know, present. The elevators opened and all eyes went there as Ashley and two Alliance officers stepped through.

"Liara, surprised to see you here." Ashley said. Liara nodded to her. In the middle of all of them was a black bag. It was the only thing out of sorts in the room and Liara guessed it was the device.

"So what do we do now?" Liara said looking to Leng.

"Well, we can all put down our weapons." Leng said. It was obvious he had not expected this either.

"You first, Human," one of the Krogans said. Liara could still hear the chaos from down below. Liara looked to Leng.

"This is my party, I think I'll keep my weapons," he said calmly. It was quiet as everyone looked around at everyone. Liara began to wonder if she was going to get out of this alive. Then she heard her, somewhere behind her whispering in her ear.

"When I say the word you get Ashley and all three of you jump out of the window," It was Cayle, obviously cloaked. Liara almost smiled.

"I think you should all put your weapons down and surrender," Ashley demanded. "This is obviously Alliance territory and you are trespassing."

Liara knew the Spectre would make a demand like that. A demand that went ignored. Everyone in the room wanted the device and they were all willing to kill for it. At this point Liara just wanted to get her and Javik out. Suddenly a shot rang out and one of the Eclipse Sisters fell to the ground.

That ended the stand-off as Shepard suddenly appeared, she was no longer blond but she still had the short hair. Liara moved for Ashley and set up a barricade around all of them. Ashley looked at Cayle as if she had seen a ghost.

"Go." Shepard screamed at them. Liara moved towards the balcony pushing Ashley as she did. As they got closer to the balcony Shepard and Javik lay down. Shepard went into cloak again. Liara almost called for her to stop. Bullets rained through the room and people fell and fought for the device. Liara looked over the balcony as a shuttle suddenly appeared. Miranda stood in it.

"Come on." She yelled. Javik did not need to be told twice as he jumped across. Ashley and Liara followed suit. Liara stood at the edge looking for Cayle.

"Go," She heard Shepard call to them from somewhere in the room of death. There was a Krogan, a Human and Turian left in the fight and they were all behind cover. The Cerberus agents were gone as was Kai Leng and the package. Shepard was nowhere to be seen.

"We have to go." Miranda said. "The Alliance will be all over this place and we need to get us out of here," She looked to Ashley.

"That was Shepard," Ashley said looking to Liara. Liara wanted to smile but she was worried for her lover.

"Let me go back," Liara said as the shuttle moved away. "Miranda stop," She moved to jump out but Javik grabbed her.

"Do not be foolish, Asari." He said fighting with her. He was forced to take her to the ground as she struggled.

"No, I can't leave her behind again." Liara was hysterical, she couldn't help it. Every time she left Shepard behind someone declared her dead. "Let me go."

Miranda closed the door and Liara went limp as it clicked shut. She could not help but feel like she had five years ago when Shepard had made her return to the Normandy. Javik let her go and she sprung up quickly punching Miranda in the jaw.

"Go back, we can't leave her there." Liara demanded, her biotics flaring. Miranda's crackled to life.

"Stand down T'Soni, there was a plan. If we did not get the package in the pent house she was going to get it. She will meet us," She looked at Ashley, "Somewhere later."

Liara was breathing deeply trying to calm her anger, her chest heaving but her eyes locked on Miranda's. Everyone seemed to hold their breath. "She better," Was all Liara could spit out as she brought herself back under control.

* * *

Kai Leng walked up Spadina to where his car would be waiting. He had lost his last Phantom but he had survived. Unfortunately he had also lost the device. He was not completely certain but he thought he saw Cerberus leaving with it. It would seem as though the Ambassador would get his way again.

He was just happy he had survived. That and Lissa looking a lot like Commander Shepard was intriguing. He had never really thought of it before as Lissa had no qualms about killing anyone and Shepard was a bleeding heart. He hated Shepard, but he did like Lissa. What a quandary that was, for him and probably for the woman herself. He wondered if the Ambassador was aware he had lost her yet. Not that it would matter he got the device.

Leng was a survivor but he had been hoping to make enough credits that he could go somewhere and retire. Somewhere no one would find him. He had always wanted a cabin out in the middle of nowhere. Not that he think he would retire completely, sometime he had just too much fun playing with people's lives. Maybe he would have started up his own little band of mercenaries. He'd never know now.

He smiled to himself as he realized just how close to death he had come. His smile turned into a smile as his walk returned to his cocky sway. He was almost to his car and then he would get off this planet.

"Hello Kai," he felt an arm wrap around his chest and before he could do anything he lost his breath. He was confused at first, struggling to get a breath. As he turned and spotted Lissa/Cayle holding a knife in her hand he understood. She had cut his throat, his vocal chords and windpipe was gone. He fell to his knees and somewhere someone screamed. Cayle walked calmly up to him, pistol drawn. "There will be no coming back this time," she said and then fired. His world went black as the bullet smashed through his skull and slide through his brain.

Cayle looked down at the man as he died and waited until his heart stopped completely. The only regret she had was he had did not have the device. People were running from her but she didn't care. She dropped the gun down beside his head. It would have her prints on it but she didn't care. Shepard was back and sooner or later everyone would know. Right now though there was only one person on her mind.

"Liara," She said with a slight smile and a tear in her eyes. She wanted her lover more than anything. She tucked her knife away and cloaked.


	17. Chapter 17

**OK warning, I am a sucker for soppy and there is some soppy in this chapter.**

* * *

She had developed a pattern. Twenty paces one way, twenty paces back and then look at the time for a minute or two, then resume pacing.

Liara had never been good at waiting, especially now when she waited for a miracle to walk back into her life. Again she had been forced to leave Shepard behind and a potentially deadly situation; held back by her friends as the doors to the shuttle shut close. They all promised her Shepard would be here but it had been over an hour. Liara would wait forever if she had to.

"She's survived worse." Javik said, trying to be comforting. He was terrible at it, but at least he tried. She did not acknowledge him. There were so many things that could go wrong. She could have been hurt in the original battle, or she could have been in the building when it collapsed. Anyone on of the people in the battle could have taken her hostage or prisoner. She could have been arrested. It was too much and Liara was weak with speculation.

Nothing had gone the way Liara had planned and now everything could be ruined. She wanted to blame Miranda, or Ashley or maybe even Javik. The truth was she had fallen in love with a hero, with a woman that would always put everyone else before herself, a woman that was willing to die for a cause. It was no one's fault but her own, and she would not change it for the world.

"I know," Liara finally answered. She tried to be calm as her heart tumbled into her stomach and played with the butterflies there. She squatted down and rubbed rested her elbows on her knees. She prayed silently to the Goddess to bring her lover back to her. As she did Miranda and Ashley began to argue yet again.

"She's an alliance soldier and as such needs to be brought back into the fold, Ashley argued.

"Why so they can arrest her and ground her indefinitely," Miranda said. "I will not allow that to happen."

"You think I would?"

"Yes, you would do whatever you are told because you are an alliance soldier first, Spectre second. You should never have gotten the title." Miranda crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the shuttle. Liara said nothing but she agreed with Miranda, she always had.

Not that Ashley was a bad person, but she was a xenophobe and she would always do exactly what she was told by the Alliance brass. Liara had no doubt that was why Udina had picked her. Personally Liara had always wanted to see Garrus with that honour, but being the next in line for the Primarch of Palavin kept him out of the running.

She could feel Ashley looking at her. She stood and looked at the woman. "Think about it Ashley, they might welcome Shepard back with open arms, but they would have to make her responsible for her actions as the Cerberus Agent."

"But she had no control over that," Ashley countered.

"We all know that," Miranda explained. "But she was still the one that assassinated the Dalatrass. Best case scenario is and honorable discharge, but more likely she will have to answer for her actions. Look at what happened with the Batarians, and they trusted her then, or supposedly trusted her."

"We all want a happy ending, Ash," Liara continued. "But that rarely happened in the real world. The Salarians will want her punished."

"No they wouldn't," Ashley argued, "Most of them were not happy with their Dalatrass, they moved behind her back, they were the process of having her removed."

"Without killing her," Miranda said. "I still have some surgery left to do, get rid of those scars, revert the some pigmentation back to normal, but then I think its best that she simply disappears with Liara."

Liara liked this idea also, but she knew Shepard. She had been unable to convince her not to turn herself in after the Batarian incident. Cayle would always do the honourable action, it was almost a curse. This time though she would not leave her side.

"Personally, I think we should do whatever Shepard wants." It was Cayle, coming out of cloak in front of Liara, tears instantly filled the Asari's eyes as she looked up to the woman she loved. Shepard held a hand out for her and Liara took it. Shepard helped her to stand and they were face to face.

Cayle's hair was still short but it was black again but her eyes were still emerald green. It didn't matter, the human's intensity was back and she could see the love in them. The colour meant nothing, but she did hope Miranda could revert them to the steely grey blue they had been.

It was quiet for a long moment as Shepard and Liara looked into each other's eyes. Cayle gave her that slight sideways smiled that was always reserved just for her and Liara knew that everything would be all right. The human's hands moved to the Asari's waist and pulled her close. She reached up and wiped away the tears from Liara's cheeks.

For a few brief seconds there were only two people in the whole world, the rest was just back ground. There was no noise except their breaths, nothing except the two of them. "I missed you," Liara whispered. "I knew you were alive but no one believed me."

"Shhh," Cayle cooed, "I love you Liara T'Soni, and I will always come back for you."

Shepard leaned down and Liara tilted her head to accommodate her and their lips met, softly at first, Cayle pulling her closer as if wanting to make them one. Liara was hers, it didn't need to be spoken, and she would always belong to Cayle Shepard. When they parted Liara panicked slightly as she remembered the night she had lost Cayle. She took a deep breath and tried to stop herself from shaking.

The last reunion she had with Shepard, when she had died on the Normandy, Liara had been cold and distant, afraid to open up again. She felt none of that this time. Her love for this woman was an open book, written in every language possible. "I love you Cayle Shepard and I will always be here for you. I am yours."

"I know." Shepard whispered back and kissed her again. Liara could not help but think she was in heaven. Cayle smile at her when they parted.

"Commander?" this came from Ashley. Cayle reluctant untangled herself from her lover and looked to the solider.

"Ashley?" She mimicked. Ashley smiled and stepped forward. Cayle hugged her and then stepped away. "You are looking good."

Ashley chuckled, "You too for a dead woman."

"I got better," Cayle smiled. Javik held out his hand for her and she took it.

"I knew you were special, Human," He said, Cayle chuckled.

"And I knew you were sentimental, for a Prothean."

Cayle nodded to Miranda, they had already had their reunion and Shepard knew Miranda well enough to know that it would remain a private thing. Miranda was not practised at letting her emotions through. The smile she had gotten from Miranda was enough to know the woman was happy she was back. That and Miranda finally admitting that she admired her was more then she expected.

She looked at the small group now and took a breath. "Leng is dead but I did not get the device," she reported.

"Just what is the device?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know a lot about it, just that they need it to activate Harbinger and I really do not find that to be a good idea," Cayle explained. "I did a quick head count before I had to leave the hotel, Leng and Cerberus were the only ones to escape and Leng did not have the device."

"Where would they take it?" Javik asked.

"Omega," Miranda and Cayle stated at the same time. Cayle smiled slightly.

"They control the Omega 4 relay and the use Omega station has a launching base for their fighters to protect it," Miranda explained.

"We can't do this alone," Shepard said and wrapped an arm around Liara, wanting her to remain close. The Asari could not help but smile. "But I know the perfect person to help us."

"Do you think Aria will help us?" Liara asked, she and the older Asari really never got along.

"She wanted her station back," Cayle said, "One of the first things Aria ever said to me was not to fuck with her and Cerberus seems to have made that mistake." Cayle grew quiet; she had dealing with Aria since becoming a Cerberus robot. She wondered if the woman would put two and two together. It might be awkward if she did.

"Are you ok?" Liara asked concerned.

"We will probably need the Alliances help," She said. "I will eventually have to go back to them and let them decide my fate."

"Why?" This, surprisingly, was from Miranda. "I know you were their poster child but really, they are just going to screw it all up and you'll end up under house arrest again. You don't need to do this, not again."

"I don't want to cross the Omega 4 relay without firepower either. We need them."

"Miranda is right," Ashley said, "You go to the Alliance and they will send me to the relay, not you."

Cayle ran a hand through her short hair and moved away from the group. The Alliance would arrest her; Shepard had to hope they would understand. What Lissa did was not her, Cayle Shepard. She had always done everything for the good of the galaxy. She had never just stood for humanity; she had stood as a united front of every being. She had sacrificed herself for all of them, would they be so quick to turn their backs on her? They had once before.

"I have to," She said finally, "Even if it means being arrested and jailed." She turned back and looked to them. "Harbinger was the first and probably the biggest threat. We don't know what Cerberus has planned for him and I personally do not want to find out, so it needs to be stopped. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let Cerberus destroy everything we fought so hard for, everything we sacrificed for because I was afraid of what might happen to me."

Liara looked to the ground; yes this was definitely the Shepard they all loved. She would never admit it to anyone but Cayle under house arrest on Earth was safer then Cayle leading yet another army into a potentially deadly situation. She hated the fact that they would do that to her, but felt secure in that she would not have to live in the fear of never seeing the woman again.

"I won't let them keep you out of the fight." Ashley said, surprising everyone. "Without you, Saren would have destroyed the Citadel, without you the Collectors would have destroyed the terminus system and without you we would all be dead. You brought peace to the Krogans and the Turians; you did the same with the Quarians and the Geth. I might be the Commanding officer of the Normandy but you Shepard, you are the Normandy. I'm a Spectre and I can pull strings."

Shepard smiled. "Well let's not make any plans until we get Aria aboard. No one knows Omega like she does. We are going to need her to get us into a back door. Last I checked she was on the Citadel."

"Well she was, but she had inherited some large establishment on Tortuga." Liara explained.

"Of course she did," Shepard said. She hated that planet. "Well then we will head there. When we have Aria secured we will come back to Earth and plan our next move." She paused. "I'll go with Liara."

Liara smiled. "Until then everyone stay safe and tell no one." It would be hard; she was dying to tell Tali and Garrus already.

They boarded the shuttle leaving Ashley by herself. When the doors closed Cayle took a deep breath and leaned against a bulkhead.

"Are you ok?" Liara asked concerned.

"No, not really," Cayle admitted. "I need to work a few things out, in my head. I have two sets of memories and they are clashing."

"What can I do to help?"

"Nothing Liara, I just need some time alone to think," She whispered, "Just some time."

* * *

Shepard leaned, her hand pressed against the wall, head slightly bent, letting the hot water of the shower tumble over her hair and down over her face. Two lives merged and tangled into one another as she tried her best to separate them. She wondered again, for the millionth time, if she should have had the Doctor eliminate the false memories, the false life.

She had done so much during her time as a Cerberus agent that she was not proud of. "Lissa" had been able to justify them because that was all she knew. Shepard was different. Killing was defensive and a necessity. Life was precious and all had meaning. That included the Salarian Dalatrass.

Shepard had disliked the woman and her backstabbing ways, but she understood where she had come from. She understood the fear the woman actually felt. She believed the Krogan would become uncontrollable and a menace. She failed to see the bigger picture. She didn't know Wrex and could not trust him like Shepard did. She did not deserve to die like she had; she did not need to be made an example of.

Shepard lowered her head, still feeling the shame in letting Cerberus control her the way she had. She wondered if she would ever be able to come to term with what had happened. She wondered if she would ever be able to trust herself again.

She heard the door to the shower open and felt a hand on her side. She knew that touch, even as Lissa she had dreamt of Liara's gentle caring touch. The Asari kissed her shoulder and Cayle shut her eyes. She could only imagine what her lover had gone through while she was "away". Shepard had died once before for two years and the Asari had changed.

She had become independent, which Shepard had actually liked. Liara had developed an inner strength that made her a leader in her own right. She had found her talent in information brokering and it suited her. Liara had also developed a slight dark side, one that she had become frightenly close to giving in to. When they had first reunited Cayle had honestly thought she had lost her. Liara had pushed her away and kept her at a distance as if blaming her for dying. For a while Cayle had thought Liara would never forgive her and Shepard had never felt so close to bottom in her life, except now.

"Liara, I," She started; she felt tears in her eyes and fought them back.

"Shh," Liara said and kissed her shoulder. Using both hands she drew Cayle back until the Spectre was leaning against her. She held her firmly in one had while the other went for the shampoo. "This is whatever you want it to be, or not to be Cayle."

Cayle leaned completely against Liara as the Asari placed the shampoo in her hair, slowly massaging it in. Shepard closed her eyes and let the woman she loved take care of her. She wanted this and she knew Liara needed it. Liara needed to feel in control of something and Cayle needed to know the Asari still loved her.

Slowly and gently Liara continued to bathe the woman she loved, the woman she had fought so hard for over the last five years. She could feel her heart beat in her chest as she touched Shepard, as she massaged the shampoo into her hair and then rinsed it. It was hard, feeling her breast pressed against the Spectre back's, not to fully embrace her. When she was done with the shampoo she repeated with the conditioner.

Cayle was so quiet Liara could only wonder what she was thinking. She had been through so much in the last five years. She did not have to meld with Shepard to know she was struggling. She knew her lover too well, even if five years had passed since she actually held her.

When Liara finished with Cayle's hair, her hands moved the human closer, letting her head rest on her shoulder. She ran her hands through Cayle hair. She was not used to it being short but it was a small difference. Cayle handed her the sponge after lathering it in body soap and the Asari cleansed her body as she had done her hair. She started at her shoulders then moved down each arm.

She let Cayle stand on her own as she continued, lathering her back and over her buttocks. Her fingers would stop and trail the new scars the Spectre had gained since her last near death experience. She could only imagine how painful and terrifying it had been to wake up under all that debris alone, unable to call for help.

"I am sorry we did not find you first," Liara whispered and moved in front of the Human using the sponge to lather her chest and over breast, resisting the urge to linger. She did however let her fingertip trail over the large scar on her stomach. She watched as Shepard twitched, she had always been sensitive there. Liara could not help but smile slightly.

"It's not your fault, Liara," Shepard said, looking down as the woman moved to one knee and continued her cleaning. The Asari was quiet as she moved down Cayle's long legs and to her feet. She bit her lip as she felt the tears threatening.

"I left you twice Cayle. You died alone twice because I left you." Liara looked up to her and Shepard instantly melted in those big blue eyes. She moved down to her knees to be level with the other woman.

"I didn't die, Liara, not really and you were always there to get me back." Cayle reached out and cupped the Asari's cheek with her hand, her thumb gently caressing. "And I sent you away, both times. I just," She paused unable to look away from her lover. "I would not have been able to," She took a deep breath. "I don't know what I would have done knowing that you had died when I could have prevented it. That would have killed me, inside," she tapped her chest.

"I don't know if I can handle it again."

Shepard smiled and took a hand in her free one. "I don't know if I can either. Dying's not all it's cracked up to be." They both laughed. "I don't think I want to try it again."

"I would be very happy if you did not." Liara smiled. Cayle leaned in and kissed her deeply and Liara responded in kind. She did not need to be melded to know just how much Shepard loved her. It was always more than evident in her soft and warm lips.

They parted and Shepard stood up and held a hand down for Liara. "I'm really tired and I don't want to be alone." She helped the Asari to her feet and placed her hands on her waist, pulling her close. Closing her eyes at the sensations their body's touching sent through her. "Will you stay with me?"

"Forever," Liara whispered, "And a day."


	18. Chapter 18

The beat was steady and loud and tended to drown out whatever other music accompanied it. It was an unusual sound for the sordid dark streets of Tortuga's capitol Port Moresby. When settlers had first come to Tortuga this pleasant almost oasis type area had been a thick forested area with a river running through it that led to a large lake. A small villa had been built on the Eastern shore of the river which then spread to the West. The town continued to grow until it reached the lake.

The area had stopped growing but people did not stop coming. Human, Salarians, Krogan Asari and Turian alike crammed themselves into the city. Other cities began to pop up around the surface of Tortuga but none of the as large or overly populated as Port Moresby. None of them as lawless either.

Last time Shepard had come to Tortuga she had gone to La Guardia, it was bad. It was run by the Blood pack and they ran it like terrorist, but it had laws, granted laws written by the Blood pack, but they were laws and they were upheld. In La Guardia you paid your homage to the pack, grew your fields and drank yourself into a stupor and life went on.

Port Moresby had more death in a day then the rest of the planet had in a week. There was no old age, there was no jail, and you lived in the darkness and hoped that no one would ever find you.

Until now Shepard had never heard music in the streets of the city. Sure there were several establishments of drinking and whoring, but never dance and music. Leave it to Aria to make her mark in a dismal hole in the ground. Shepard was not happy to be back here, she hated Tortuga.

Shepard and Liara moved into Aria's newest establishment which she named Elusian, which Liara explained to her was an old ritual used in the days before Siari and maybe even as old as the Goddess Athame. It was considered a cleansing ritual the maiden would perform before they were paired up with their mates. It was forgotten for some time but then rose again as Siari became more popular. It change slightly became a word used for finding oneself, in a sensual sort of way. Human had an equivalent; it was called puberty, or more to the discovery of sexual desire. Either way, Shepard found it an odd name for a bar.

Shepard smiled as Liara had blushed her way through the explanation and Liara knew she was going to get teased. She smiled as she finished and looked to Cayle.

"You know I have to say something don't you?" The Human said, taking her lovers hand. "You just looked so damn cute blushing like that."

Liara smiled, "I am sure you do."

"You will have to tell me later how you went through your Elusian ritual," Shepard smiled even more.

"It wasn't a ritual per say," Liara explain. "It's more of a time just before one reached the Maiden phase. It is not something that is generally talked about, as I am sure that Humans do not talk about their own sexual curiosity as, basically, young adults."

Shepard raised a brow and smiled. "I wouldn't mind."

"I bet you wouldn't" Liara leaned into her slightly. "Maybe you can share as well."

Shepard chuckled and squeezed the Asari's hand. "I didn't get a chance to go through anything like that Liara," She admitted, "but maybe we can make something up."

They walked through the line up to the main doors and were stopped by two large Krogans and a Turian.

"Do you usually just walk to the front of the line and cut in front of everyone?" The Turian asked.

"Usually," Shepard answered. She handed the Turian a data pad, "give this to Aria and let her decide."

The Turian looked to it for a long time. Shepard shrugged, "Or not, but I would not want to be in your shoe's if Aria ever found out you turned me away."

"Why, who are you?" The man could not help ask, his curiosity was peaked.

"That's for Aria to know, not you," Shepard glared at the man. It was not a long showdown as the Turian finally turned away.

"If your messing with me Human, I'll make sure you pay for it." He said moving off. Cayle laughed then closed her eyes.

If anything Aria's music was catchy. Not that Cayle danced by any stretch of the imagination, but she could not help tapping her foot to the beat. Last time she danced was with Jack on the Citadel and the young biotic had never let her live it down. Old woman dancing was what she had called it.

She found herself wondering what Jack was doing now. She had been more than happy when she had learned that the young biotic had started teaching. Jack had a sassy mouth but deep down she had a big heart. She had become so used to being disrespected that she did her level best to throw people away from her before she was disappointed. It had taken some work to get Jack to trust her, and more importantly to trust others. She knew how hard it had been, one only needed to be kicked in the face so many time before they covered their head when people approached. Jack had overcome that though and become so much more than even she expected she could be.

She loved working with the younger biotics, she loved having them look up to her and make her feel like she was someone special. Jack had never told her that. She didn't have to; she just had to watch Jack with "her kids". Jack had finally found her home. Shepard could only hope she would get to see Jack sometime soon. She had always thought of Jack like a little sister.

The Turian returned looking a little bit pale. He gestured them to enter the club. "Aria is in the office," he pointed to a room that overlooked the club. The widows were darkened but Shepard imagined that on the other side they had a clear view of the bar. Aria always needed to know exactly what was happening.

Shepard nodded and held Liara's hand tighter. She did not want to bring her lover with her for several reasons. The first was the simple fact that this was Tortuga and anything bad could happen here. As Lissa she had always done very well, but then she had never had to come to Port Moresby. Still though, the Cerberus Assassin was more suited to this atmosphere the Alliance Soldier. Even so, both hated the way women were treated on this rock.

Aria's place was not bad. There were no restrictions on her here, but the ones that she made for herself. Her dancing girls were naked and her serving girls were half dressed but no one was touching or abusing them, not like all the other places. She imagined a lot of the woman wanted to work here. Aria would only have hired the best. There was absolutely no fighting; signs were up all over stating as such. Knowing Aria she would have had to kill quite a few people before her rules were firmly established.

Regardless, Shepard watched Liara like a hawk as they made their way through the club, moving herself between the Asari and anyone who dared approach.

They approached the office and Shepard could not help but think of the second reason. She had visited Aria before, as Lissa. Actually she had been to Aria's several times as the Asari seemed to be a bit of an information broker herself. Lissa had never minded trading away some Cerberus information in exchange for information she was looking for, besides she had never thought of betraying the Illusive Man as betraying Cerberus. She had given Aria a lot of information on the last few Illusive Man hold outs and let her take them out. Aria hated the man and anyone who dealt with him.

Aria also liked Lissa, not that the Asari had ever come out and said it, but she had flirted and Lissa had flirted right back. Lissa had always had an unexplained affection for the Asari. Shepard now knew where that came from. It was from her love for Liara, deep down being with an Asari was right; it was the way it was supposed to be.

She and Aria had even come very close one night, to stepping over that line between friends and more. They had both been venting their frustration out about men and their lack of use for them. It had been entertaining at first and they shared a laugh or two and then they were kissing and exploring and it had taken everything in Lissa's power to finally pull away from the Asari before things went beyond the point of no return. She liked Aria, but she wasn't able to take that step. That had been the last time Lissa had been to Aria's. If Shepard was lucky, Aria would not figure it out. She had her black hair back and Miranda had returned her eyes to their original colour but her hair style was still short.

As they made their way up the steps to Aria's office Shepard prayed that none of her past with Aria would come out. She had been too embarrassed to tell her lover herself and she was not sure how Liara would take it.

Cayle stopped and looked around the establishment. Like all of Aria's clubs there was a slight red glow in the dimness. Several stages littered the main floor at all different levels with dancer moving their bodies to the beat. Most of the girls here were human, but there was a smattering of Asari as well. There were two bars at each end of the dance floor with bar tenders and a few bouncers at each.

The club was packed with the younger crowd, not the worn out, knarred hands, knarred heart regulars. People were here to actually dance, not drink themselves into oblivion. It was not something she expected in this town. It was almost as if the music and the dance gave them some semblance of hope. That was Aria's gift.

The two guards outside of the office moved out of her way as she approached. She looked to Liara for a second before opening the door and stepping inside.

In contrast to the dimly lit club the room was bright and did not have that red glow. It reminded her more of an office and she was not used to that. Aria usually preferred a comfortable couch in the middle of her establishment. However Tortuga was not a normal place and one needed to protect themselves. As requested on the pad Aria was present with just one guard, one that she trusted.

"So, it seems as though you just can't stay dead Shepard," Aria said looking up from her red couch. That was a mainstay it seemed. Cayle could not help but wonder if she dragged it with her from establishment to establishment.

"Yes, it would seem as though Death and I have established an equitable working relationship."

Aria laughed as Shepard moved to the couch and sat down. Liara followed but remained standing. Aria focused on her. "So, has your girlfriend learned how to speak?"

Shepard looked to Liara having no idea what Aria was talking about.

"Last time I visited Aria, Feron insisted on doing the talking," Liara explained. Shepard still, really did not understand. Judging Liara's body language she was not happy with the way the conversation was going.

"And how are you doing?" Shepard changed the subject. "Every time I meet you, you're in a different place."

"Yes because picking up and moving my life is always fun," Aria commented dryly.

"I'm happy to see you too," Shepard smiled.

Aria looked at her for a very long time and Cayle found herself getting uncomfortable. Aria was trying to figure something out, she could tell in how the Asari lowered one brow.

"So how did you escape death this time?"

"That is a story for another day," Shepard stated firmly, letting the proprietor know that was not on the table for discussion. "However I would just like for you to know, Kai Leng is finally deceased."

It was quiet for a long time. As Lissa, Shepard had found out what happened to Aria's daughter. She knew that Aria had wanted Leng dead for some time. Cayle kicked herself for mentioning it. She as Shepard had never known. She looked to Aria to see if she would pick up on it.

She had, she could see it in the way Aria looked to her now. The quiet in the room grew deafening. Cayle went through all sorts of things she would say to Liara if Aria spoke up. Not that Cayle would ever have had a relationship with the Older Asari but Lissa was not Cayle. Would Liara even see it that way?

"It is good that he is dead. It's just too bad I was not the one to do it," Aria said her eyes not leaving Cayle's. She knew, and she was not going to mention it. Shepard let out the breath she had been holding.

"This is a nice place you have here for Tortuga." Shepard immediately changed the subject.

"Yes, one built on a lot of blood. It's seems the people of Tortuga were used to taking what they wanted and their manners were, well, non-existent."

"Looks like you have it under control."

"Yes," Aria picked up a glass and took a drink, she was still eyeing Shepard. "We had to teach several lessons when we arrived. Apparently a few people did not know my rule."

Cayle chuckled, "What about Omega."

"Omega is mine and one day, I will take it back."

Shepard knew how much the woman loved Omega. She had left because of that love for it. Had she stayed it would have been destroyed. It was like that story she had heard once, the one about the two women, both claiming a child to be their own. When the magistrate ordered the baby cut in two and each woman given a half. The real mother stepped forward and allowed the other woman to have the child.

"What if I said that day could be now?"

Again that defining silence, Aria looked from Shepard to Liara. "Are you playing with me Shepard, I do not like to be toyed with."

"I would never do that," Shepard said honestly, "But we need access to the Omega four relay and the only way to do that is to control Omega. I figure who better to help us with its weakness' and get us in undetected if need be, then you."

"Who are we?" Aria asked, it was a fair question.

"The Alliance and whatever Allies that come along."

Aria stood and moved over to the window, looking down at the dancing locals below. "And if I take part in this, who gets control of Omega?"

"Well, from all that I know Omega has an owner; she's just been gone for a bit. You would have to allow the Alliance to use it as a launching ground for their forces though."

"And the Alliance will just hand it over to me when they are done?"

Shepard could really not guarantee that. She could not even guarantee she'd be anything but arrested and placed under house arrest and giving a dishonourable discharge. She just wanted to have a plan in motion for when she returned to the Alliance. Something to make her worth something other than arrested, to them.

"What do you think?" Aria looked directly at Liara. "Will they go along with Shepard or arrest her?"

Liara looked to Cayle, who hung her head. "You know?" the younger Asari asked.

"I knew Lissa and Lissa knew about my daughter, I don't think I ever told Shepard," Aria took another drink.

"When I was Lissa I had made some deals with Aria, she was an informant." Cayle explained and prayed that Aria would leave it at that.

Aria turned to her, looking her straight in the eyes, "Yes, a very good informant."

"And a friend," Cayle added and looked to Liara who was starting to make assumptions of her own. She could see the Shadow Broker coming out in Liara, the tensing and the stern face and the slight blue flare of her biotics.

"Nothing ever happened," Cayle didn't want to do this, now, in front of Aria. She should have told Liara.

"Unfortunately," Aria added. Liara still had her back up but thankfully was not pressing the issue, not here anyway.

Again that silence hit the room. She needed to get out of there, and get Liara out of there before things went bad. "Are you in?" she asked finally.

"I still have the three mercenary groups under my control. If we go for the station they have to be a part of it, and the station comes back under my control."

They were fair demands. "That was my plan."

"Ok, count me in."

* * *

"Aria, you had a fling with Aria," Liara said too calmly as they entered the shuttle. Shepard knew the Asari was anything but calm, her biotics were flaring now. Cayle had no idea what to say. The last two days had been wonderful, with Liara by her side almost all the time. She had loved having Liara there to laugh with and to touch but they, she, had avoided a lot of things.

Cayle had not been ready to breech the subject of Lissa. Not that she did not trust her lover; she was just ashamed of what she had done as the Assassin, ashamed that Cerberus had been able to what they had done to her.

"I did not," Cayle defended. "It was Lissa," she paused for a long time. "Aria was pretty much the only Asari Lissa knew and it felt right that for her to have feelings. Just deep down having an Asari at her side was right and she could never explain it, she was Cerberus after all. It was one night, Aria opened up to Lissa about a lot of things and vice versa. They tried the whole intimate thing but Lissa stopped it, it felt wrong."

"I'd say," Liara was still tense with blue wisps slightly outlining her body. Cayle took a deep breath. "You could have told me, trusted me."

"I do trust you," Shepard countered and sat down. "I trust you completely, it's not about that."

"Cayle, you can talk to me." Liara sat beside the Human, calming down. "I'm sorry; I should not have gotten angry."

"No, I would have," Shepard smiled slightly. "Lissa was not me, Liara. She did things that I would never have done. It was not my life but I still feel responsible."

"Shepard you had no control," Liara placed a hand on her shoulder but Cayle shook it off and stood.

"They got to me Liara, they made me something I did not want to be, I did things I did not want to do. They gave me a name and, Jesus, I don't even know how to describe it. They controlled me Liara and I was helpless, I let it happen. How do you get over something like that? How do I trust that it never happens again? If I can't trust in that how do I expect others too?" She paced, her own fist completely clenched, fingernails digging into her palms.

"Lissa did a lot of things that Cayle, that I, would never do," Her voice became a whisper, "Things that I am ashamed of and that I can never take back."

"And I over reacted, Cayle, I am so sorry," Liara moved to her side, "I know you and Lissa are two different people."

"I know I have been distant the last couple days and we have not had the reunion that either of us had dreamt of but…"

"That is not important," Liara said taking the woman she loved into her arms and comforting her. "All that is important is that you are Cayle and you are back. We can work on everything else."

Cayle released her fist and held Liara, letting the Asari comfort her. There was nothing she needed more then to be in her lover's arms.

"You were always so hard on yourself Cayle," Liara whispered into her ear, "I know millions of people who trust you and will understand what happened. What Lissa did was not you and you do not have to be ashamed, it was Cerberus. They might have controlled you but you were too strong for them to keep you controlled. You broke free; you rescued me and Koylat and then immediately set yourself to save the galaxy once again, even knowing they might turn their back on you. You are Shepard the unstoppable force, you have always stood strong and you are still standing strong. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Cayle held Liara tightly, fighting to get her emotions under control. She buried her face in the Asari's neck.

"I love you Cayle Shepard and there is nothing that Lissa did that could break that," Liara pulled back slightly so she could look in Cayle's eyes.

"I love you Blue, more than anything," Shepard said and rested her forehead against Liara's. "I think nothing happened with Aria, because deep down, the only Asari for me is you, no matter who I am"

Liara smiled and tilted her head up, pressing her lips against Shepard. "Your right about that," she brought her hand up and tangled it in Cayle's hair. She always loved the feel of the Humans hair in her fingers, so soft.

Cayle reached down and pulled Liara tightly to her, letting her tongue explore and play with Liara's. The Asari's moan was enough to awaken deep desires in the Human. The shuttle was not the ideal place but Cayle did not care. She needed Liara now more than ever.

They could not stop touching each other as their clothes became nothing but a pile on the floor. Cayle smiled as she ran her fingers over Liara's crest, remembering how much the Asari loved that. Her other hand traveled downward, past the nap of her back to her buttocks and she squeezed slightly.

Cayle had struggled since she got her memory back, the two worlds colliding but she knew beyond anything, that Liara was the centre of her soul and they were one. She had held back for days and could hold back no longer. She lifted Liara's leg up as she pressed her against the wall, her lips exploring that spot at the edge of the crest where ear would be. Liara could only moan as she gripped Cayle's hair in one hand, arm in the other.

"Goddess," She whispered. She could not control herself; she was putty in the human's hands. "Embrace Eternity," She continued as she and Shepard became one.


	19. Chapter 19

**OK, this chapter came out of the blue, was just writing some back ground and next thing I know this popped out. Warning, soppiness included. I know the last chapter just came out but since I didn't plan for this chapter I'll just throw it out and let you all decide if it fits**

The screaming seemed to never stop, she had tried to cover her ears with a pillow or plug them with her fingers but the sound always found a way to get through. It would last until she figured she could not take it, then it would be quiet, but it never lasted long.

She had been fourteen when she had her first trip to the hospital and she had been force to stay for almost a week. A broken jaw, three broken ribs and a world of hurt had kept her there. When one had no money to pay, there was no children's ward. She had been placed in a ward with eleven other women. It was the one in the corner that would wake up screaming and never stop. She figured she would get used to it but she always jumped when it started.

She was the youngest in the wards and the other women all looked like they were ancient. All used up and left to rot. Some of them just as beaten as she was, some much more broke then she was but they all had the same sad story. They were women in a gang's world. Cayle had learned that lesson the hard way when a group of "the boys" had found her on her own. She still had no idea of how she had ended up in the hospital.

It was in her second day in the ward that she met Alice. A wonderful old girl who was barely thirty, she had looked like she was fifty and getting older every day. Rough looking would be considered an understatement and when the crone had started talking to her Cayle had almost ran away, probably would have if it had not been painful to even walk.

"You're quiet, like a mouse with no squeak." The woman said, half her teeth were missing the other half were like little rotten stumps. She took a long drag of her cigarette. Cayle looked up from her bed as the woman came closer. "Still clean and fresh," she looked her over. "Well almost clean, them men got to you, was bound to happen sometime soon. Not too big in the breast but you have nice hips, men like nice hips."

Cayle said nothing but pulled her blanket up to her neck.

"You got a fire to you," the crone went on, "you know, if you have something they need, more than your sex, this won't happen to you."

Cayle jumped as the screaming started again, tears threatened to pour out of her eyes.

"Oh now don't start them water works, you go and learn a skill, a knife or a gun or information, something they need, and you won't ever come back here." A dirty hand reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "And if you don't find a skill well then you're lucky too, cause it's the first time that's the worse and now you have that under your belt."

It had been the first and last time the gangs had ever used her like that. She was sure the old crone had never really expected her to heed her words, but she had. Cayle really had no skill at anything; she had pretty much live off just stealing food and running from the law.

Once she had escaped the hospital she had begun to train herself, getting into shape, stealing a gun and then finding a place to learn how to use it. Finding ammunition for the pistol had been a little harder but she was talented at breaking and entering and over a small period of time she realized she was talented at shooting as well. Less than six months after her attack she was able to hit a target with a pistol at 400 yards. Eight months after her attack she had broken into a house to steal food and happened upon a M-92 Mantis and enough ammunition to carry her for a long while. It had been the jack pot she had waited for. By the time she had turned fifteen she was taking on contracts for the Bloods. She had never ended up in the hospital again. She worked for the blood until she was seventeen.

To say Admiral David Anderson had influenced Shepard life would the understatement of a lifetime. He had been the one that had found her, brought her out of that life of hell and gave her a reason to go on. She owed everything she had become to him. She had never had a father and he was the closest she had ever got to finding one.

He had found her a place to stay with people who wanted to help her. She had learned how to read and write and some of the other basics one needed to keep themselves out of the slums. When she was eighteen she had joined the marines and the rest was history. She owed everything to Anderson. She had been there when he had died; she had never had a chance to mourn him. Cerberus had taken that from her.

The smell of the lilies tickled her nose as she looked down to them, then beyond. It was a cold stone, laying on a cold and wet ground that looked back up to her with her mentors name on it. For some reason she wanted more. He had saved the universe and all he got was his name, birthday and death day etched into some stone. Liara had assured her that no one had forgot the Admiral, that schools and hospitals had been named after him but it still didn't feel right.

Cayle reached up and scratched an imaginary itch on her neck then looked up and let the rain fall over her face. She wondered if Anderson was looking down at her now. Would he still be proud of her? She would never know. She could only hope that he was with those that loved him.

"Well, I'm sorry I'm late," She said finally. She looked up to Liara who was waiting at the car. Shepard had wanted to do this alone, "For quite a few things. I just want you to know though, if it wasn't for you I just might have ended up Lissa. You were there for me when no one else was and showed me what I could be and for that I owe you everything." She smiled slightly. "One day, hopefully, I will marry Liara and we will have children and although I don't think David is an appropriate name for small girls I will make sure they know who you are and what you did for their father. That in more ways than one, you were the true hero cause if it wasn't for you there would be no me."

Shepard looked to the lilies she held in the crook of her arm then bent down and placed them in front of the tombstone. She then placed a rock on it. She remained kneeling as she kissed her fingers then held them on the rock. She had never been affectionate with the Admiral, not in the hugging and kissing sort of way, but she did love him like she would have a father.

As she knelt she felt a presence behind her. "He was always very proud of you, Commander."

Shepard stood and faced the other man she admired, Admiral Hackett, although older looking now was still imposing. She stood to attention and saluted him even though neither of them was in uniform.

"I think I should be the one that salutes you Shepard, none of us would be here if it was not for you. For the record, I'm glad you're not dead."

"Me too," Cayle smiled and looked back over to Liara who was pretending to be surprised the Admiral was here.

"Don't be too upset with Doctor T'Soni. I think this was a good idea, if you came to me at headquarters we would not be able to just talk. T'Soni said you were going to turn yourself in, I don't think that's a good idea but I don't think I can talk you out of it."

"No Admiral, it's the right thing to do."

"Nobody knows, except a handful of your loyal friends, that you were this blonde Cerberus Assassin. The Alliance has no idea who she is and I am certain they would never suspect it was Commander Shepard. We could bury this Cayle." Until now they had been walking, as he spoke her name he stopped and turned to her. "No one ever needs to know."

Cayle was silent for a long time. Liara and Hackett had obviously already gone over this to some degree and no doubt the Asari probably supported what Hackett offered. It was a nice dream but that was all it was. "I couldn't live with that, Sir."

"No, I didn't think so, we were just hoping."

"I appreciate the gesture but after everything everyone has been through they don't need a leader that lies to save herself. They either accept what happen or they do not, but the truth needs to be known. I need the truth to be known. It's hard enough to live knowing what happened. I don't think I could live with covering it up."

"I understand Commander and I guess I expected that. It's who you are and that's why you're a hero," he looked past her to the Asari waiting at the hover car. He was silent for a long while. "If you need this all to come out in the open then I have a suggestion for you."

"I'm listening."

"If you go to the Alliance they will hang you out to dry, I suggest, instead, you surrender yourself to the Council."

"Wouldn't that be worse?"

"Not at all," He said crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back slightly. Shepard was already doing the same. "First off, even though Humanity likes to think of you as their hero, the Galaxy has not forgotten what Shepard has done. You might be human but you always treated every race as equals. You brought peace between the Turians and the Krogan as well as the Quarians and the Geth."

"But it's the Salarians I really have to worry about."

"Not really, they go through emotional cycles quite quickly and are logical beings. They were upset the first week or so after the assassination, but things went back to normal. The Dalatrass was not well liked; she turned her back on the allies because you would not bend to her will, which angered everyone as well as her own people. The Quarian and Turian council member will be on your side, the Asari might need a little convincing. Your problem will be the Human representative. She's a bit of a problem, no military background, a pure politician. She will want to hang you out to dry, thinking it as a good will gesture to the Salarians, which I don't think, is something they want."

"The Alliance will hang you, Shepard. They grounded you for the Batarian incident, they will give you a dishonourable discharge for this if you are lucky, possibly jail if you are not. Either way it is not something you deserve. They will think they need to make up for the assassination, and they will do that through crucifying you and not even give it a second thought."

"What about the device, I know how to get it," Shepard said. "Couldn't I use that to my advantage?"

"They would send Williams and we all know you would not let her go in blind," He paused, "They know that as well."

Cayle ran her hand through her hair and looked back to Anderson's grave. "I didn't ask for this to happen to me, Sir"

"Do you trust that it will never happen again?"

"I am clean, I mean, it could happen to anyone of us. They worked on me for a year before they were able to break me, that programming is gone. Miranda made sure of that. There is as much a risk of me being programmed as there is of anyone being programmed."

"Well that's good to know," Hackett stared at her as she looked to the ground, "You're a hero Shepard, don't ever think different. None of us would even be here right now if not for you."

"I sometimes get the impression that being a hero doesn't mean much, Admiral. Particularly when your own people want you strung up. I am starting to wonder if it was better that I was a dead hero."

"You know that's not true, Commander. You will always be there for those that can't be. You will stand on a wall holding a gun so that others can sleep well at night. It's what you do and it's what you do better than anyone. This will all work out, you just need to change course and go to the Council, not the Alliance. I think what you find there just may surprise you."

"What about you Admiral, do you trust me?" Shepard looked into his eyes. He never faltered.

"With my life Commander, with my life," they looked at each other for a very long time. Shepard finally gave him a little nod and turned and headed back to the hover car. With each step she rolled over the information and advises the Admiral had given her and with each step she felt more confident that things just might turn out. By the time she reached Liara she felt much better.

"Wow, Admiral Hackett," Liara said innocently, "Must have been weird running into him."

"Yeah kind of odd we would run into each other like that," Shepard raised a brow as she got into the hover car, "Cause a graveyard is such a busy meeting place."

Liara continued to feign her innocents, "What did he say?"

Shepard looked out the back window to watch the aging Admiral placed stone on Anderson's grave beside her own. "Hackett advised that I should go to the Citadel Council and not the Alliance. He thinks I would find more friends there."

"The admiral is a very wise man," Liara smiled. Shepard looked to her.

"I might get crucified either way," She smiled, "You'd still come and visit me in jail wouldn't you?"

"Only on conjugal visit days," Liara smiled back.

Shepard let her head settle on the rest then turned to look at Liara, "When this settle's I think we should, well, get married."

"Shepard, is that a proposal?" Liara looked to her lover stunned, Shepard smiled back.

"Not yet Liara, this is just me putting out feelers so that I don't get embarrassed when I finally come round to it," She smiled as Liara hit her. It was quiet for a while. "Well?"

"Well what?" Liara looked over to her. Shepard smiled.

"Would you marry me?"

"I, uh?" Liara looked at her not knowing if she was still joking or not.

"That was a proposal Blue," Shepard smiled, "Except I don't have a ring or anurmpp," She was cut off as Liara twisted in her own seat and kissed her deeply. Cayle smiled and returned the kiss. When the separated Liara's grin was from ear to ear, "That was a yes?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes," Liara repeated over and over, each time followed with a kiss. Shepard chuckled. "Did you and Hackett talk about that as well?" She asked.

"No Anderson told me to hurry up and stop stalling, he wants Grandkids," Shepard's smile grew for a few seconds and then she sobered. "I just wanted to do something right, to have something go right for once. I don't know what's going to happen with the Council but good or bad," She trailed off.

"Good or bad, Shepard, I will always be there for you."


	20. Chapter 20

**I would like to thank everyone for the response I got from the last chapter, which kinda surprised me since it was not a chapter that I never expected to write, nor was I ever planning a proposal but I was pleasantly surprised that everyone really liked it. It got more hits, reviews and PMs then any of my other chapters. Again thanks, stuff like that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and actually makes me feel like perhaps I might be doing something right. Now in saying that I am a terrible speech type of writer so this next part of the story is probably lame.**

* * *

Shepard remembered the council chambers, at least the public one. Like everything related to the Citadel it was large and grandiose. Being human of course she thought the floor was made of marble but over time she had learned that it was called lapis and it was a rock found on Thessius. She had always remembered this little fact because it made her realise that no matter how different all the races were that they shared a lot in common.

Life, death; love, loss, the circle of life, every race lived that, granted some longer than others. They were all so very different but in the basics of life, they were exactly the same. It was funny how each one of the races could have their own role, every one of them but the Humans. The Asari were the counselors, the Turians the tacticians, the Salarians the scientist, Quarians the Engineers, Krogan the warriors, the list went on but Shepard could never figure what the Humans role was.

As she walked into the chambers now she looked to the floor. She could only wonder if the stone was lapis or marble or even a similar stone from a different world. She promised herself she would look into it later.

She hid behind a hoodie and dark pants, she was not ready to be seen. Not that anyone was in the chambers except a few of the cleaning staff. She had needed to come and just get familiar with the layout. She was pleasantly surprised to find that it was rebuilt exactly like the old one. A fact that did surprise her since the chamber was in the shape of a Reaper, or at least she always thought it was. Perhaps they had decided that by leaving it alone that it showed they were not frightened of the massive machines anymore.

It didn't matter, they as a Galactic community had defeated the imposing machines. They as a Galactic community had helped each other rebuild. It had been an amazing occurrence that had brought them all so much closer. It had not mended everything but it was a great start in the right direction. She had never expected them to become a Utopian society but at least they had learned how strong they could be together.

Shepard walked slowly and found herself standing in the exact spot she had stood eight years ago. She closed her eyes and could hear the echoes in the room.

"It is the decision of the council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of Special tactic and reconnaissance branch of the citadel," the Asari councillor, Tevos had started. Cayle could not help but remember how proud she was at that moment. The first Human Spectre, she had not really wanted the honour, not when Udina had mentioned it to her but when it happened it was like a wave and she was helpless. Anderson had been at her side then, like he had always been. Ashley and Kaidan had been there as well.

She remembered how quickly the chambers had filled when Tevos had started speaking, no one really certain what was happening or what it would mean.

It was Valern, the Salarian councillor, who spoke next, she could hear his voice as if it also echoed, "Spectre are not trained but chosen, individuals forged in the fires of service and battle, those who actions elevate them above the rank and file."

It had almost been like a well-rehearsed speech. The Turian, Sparatus continued the formalities, "Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defence, the safety of the galaxy theirs to uphold."

This was the responsibility that Shepard upheld herself to, the first and last line of defence. That was her duty as well as her burden. It was the guidelines she had set for herself, the defender of galactic peace. She knew that secretly Udina had hoped for more power for the Humans but Shepard had never viewed her appointment as a Human thing, she was not a Spectre to help humanity, she was a Spectre to help everyone equally. She was more than certain that she had been a huge disappointment to the Human councillor, especially when she had originally backed Anderson for the job.

That was the day everything had changed for her. It was the day she had realized that things were so much bigger then Earth and humanity. It was also the day she had realized she would never be able to live a normal life.

Shepard leaned against a podium that faced the area where the councillors stood. She had many battles with them in the past, mostly regarding the Reapers. For the longest time they had refused her claim that the large "beast" was anything but a myth. Even after defeating Saren and Sovereign they denied her claim of a Reaper invasion. They refused assistance to the Humans in the traverse when the Collectors started to harvest them, acting on behalf of Harbinger. They even turned their back on her when she had been forced to destroy the relay in the Behak system killing over three hundred thousand Batarians in order to delay the Reaper Invasion.

It wasn't until the Reapers had appeared in their front yards that they realized that she had been speaking the truth and by then it was almost too late. Even then they refused to listen to her when she called for a united front to oppose the Reapers. She knew deep in her heart that united together as a galaxy nothing could oppose them but they were only interested in protecting their own people.

She had very little faith they would help her now. She had very little faith that anyone would do anything but jail her.

"Commander Shepard?" someone approached from behind, she knew that voice. Shepard could not help but wonder if that was still who she was. She had been pronounced dead by the Alliance, was she still a Commander?

"Councillor Tevos," Cayle turned and faced the beautiful Asari. Tevos was a mix of grace, serenity and the characteristics of royalty, or at least Shepard has always thought of her like that, almost like a Queen.

"By the Goddess, you are alive," She said and to Cayle's surprise, hugged her. When they parted she placed her hand on Shepard cheek. "When Aria told me you were alive and wanted to speak to me, I, well, I really didn't believe her."

Shepard raised a brow. She had always wondered what the connection was between the two. She remembered Aria calling on Tevos before to help her out of a situation. She also remembered Aria and herself almost having a one night stand, sisters' maybe? Shepard figured she would never know. She just knew that Aria had something on the Councillor and maybe it would be enough to get Tevos to help her.

"Yeah, I'm still figuring it out myself," Cayle said.

"Aria also told me that you had been working for Cerberus, but that they had been controlling you, making you think you were someone else."

Shepard turned away and wince, Aria had talked too much. "They had a Doctor that specialized in hypnosis; apparently Cerberus found me first on the Citadel and they snuck me to one of their facilities. It started when I was still injured and weak, the ideal situation they said, to rebuild the mind."

"And you had no idea you were Shepard?"

Cayle shook her head slowly as her arms crossed defensively over her chest. "They cleverly mixed reality with make belief, from what I understand it took the just over a year to program me."

The councillor looked to Shepard for long moment before speaking again, "And you have come here to…"

"To turn myself in, I have committed crimes against the Council races, crimes I need to answer for," Shepard turned away, gripping the podium with both hands, "I was the Assassin that killed Linron."

It was quiet for a very long time before Tevos finally stepped up to stand beside Shepard. "We have not seen eye to eye on a lot of things in the past, Commander. We, as a council have treated you badly, not believed you and shunned you. We even went as far too once call you a traitor. Through that all you remained steadfast in your goal, strong in your beliefs and loyal Spectre member. When we first made you a Spectre most thought it was to placate the Humans. I cannot speak for Sparatus or Valern but I can tell you what I saw when we appointed you as a Spectre."

She continued when Shepard did not answer, "I saw a woman, a being who was willing to put everyone else before herself, not just her race, but everyone. I saw a woman who was brave, strong and mighty, I also saw a woman who was caring and selfless. I saw in you the best of all of us and you have never let me down Commander Shepard. The fact that you are here now, torn up over what your body did when your mind was not in control is proof of just what kind of a person you are," She placed her hand on Cayle's back for support. "I imagine the audience with Liara T'Soni is really an audience with you and that you plan on turning yourself in."

Shepard nodded and turned to her, "That and some other pretty important things. Cerberus has Harbinger and I think we should get it back before they do any harm with it. I know that I have to answer to all that has happened and that I might be condemning myself by returning but if it means stopping Cerberus then I have to do it."

"And that is why you are a Spectre, Commander."

"Are?"

"Even if you were stripped of the title, you are the very model on which the foundation was built. A title is just that, anyone can wear them, not everyone can be them," Tevos turned to leave. "Go and be with Liara now, the council will convene shortly and we will continue this discussion there," She smiled slightly as she moved away, "I think you will be surprised at the outcome."

* * *

"The council chambers are full," Liara said as she returned the room, "It's almost as if they are all expecting something big. Are you nervous?" She asked raising a brow.

"If I said no, would you believe me?" Cayle said and she looked at herself in the mirror. It had been a long time since she had worn her dress blues and she felt extremely uncomfortable in them. She tugged at her collar. "Is there usually that many people at the council meeting.

"Usually it is empty, maybe a few political representative, people who brought support for their problems but never a full house, rarely half a house." Liara explained. "Mind you until recently the council had been sitting in the Ascension. They just moved back to the Citadel a few months ago."

"Did you have something to do with the full house?" Shepard's eyes narrowed.

Liara smiled, "No and not that I would admit it either with you looking at me like that." She reached up and tended to Shepard's epaulet.

"There are some strange Quarian and Turian waiting to speak to Shepard," Falere said coming into the room.

"I figured you would want your friends with you," Liara whispered, Cayle smiled and turned as Garrus and Tali entered the room. Falere left to give them privacy. She wasted no time and bringing them into a big hug.

"Oh god, I have missed you." Cayle said to them. When they parted Tali was crying and Garrus was smiling.

"How dare you go and come back from the dead and not tell us." Tali said. Cayle focused on her for a long time. She looked at her slightly yellowish skin, she knew Tali was young, perhaps the youngest of them all but because of the mask she had never realized just how beautiful the Quarian was. It was fitting though, that Tali was as beautiful on the outside as she was inside.

She was surprised that the thick mane of long black hair that flowed from the Quarian. Until now she had only ever seen humans with hair. Well Lissa had come across a few suit less Quarians in her time, this was the first for Cayle.

"Tali, I," She reached out and took the Quarians hand. Her skin was soft like humans as well. Shepard smiled. "You are beautiful." She hugged the young Quarian again. When she parted she looked to Garrus, her smile grew.

"You, however, still look like you took a missile in the face," this cause Garrus to laugh.

"It's good to see you both," Cayle said holding her own emotions in check. "I'm going to guess Liara called you."

"She said you might need some support," Garrus said and smiled to the Asari who moved over to Sheppard and took her hand. "Of course, I had to figure that out on my own since it was Tali who answered the call and she kind of forgot how to speak after she heard the news."

Tali smiled, "It was quite shocking," She defended, "I mean coming back from the dead once was, amazing but to beat death a second time."

"Unfortunately I didn't beat it this time," Shepard said and looked to the floor.

"Liara told us about that as well," Garrus said, "But I knew, or had a feeling since the Assassination that something was not adding up. I only knew one other person who could make a shot like that and then when the blonde came running out of the building. I didn't get the best look but enough to know that something was up."

"Liara never thought you were dead," Tali said with a smile as she wiped her eyes, "She always said she would know, she would have felt it."

Shepard smiled to her lover. "Well, I'm putting my life into the hands of people that have never listened to me before."

"Well, the Quarian Councillor, Adayia will be an ally," Tali said. "You know her father, Zaal'Koris. Most Quarians see you as the one that Untied the Quarian and the Geth anyway. They even named a city after you on Rannoch, or it's in the process."

"And you won just as many points with the Turians when you ended the feud with the Krogan, I don't think you have to worry about Sparatus." Garrus added.

Shepard looked from Tali to Garrus then to her side at Liara. She moved off to a spot by herself. "I admit I am happy and flattered but I don't think any of us are looking at the big picture." She turned back to them. "I let Cerberus get to me, use me, people died because of that. I mean do I deserve to be just let free?"

"Shepard," This was from Garrus, he moved until he was directly behind her. "Cerberus used you against your will. Had you been in your right mind you would never have done what this Assassin did. Cerberus attacked you when you were weak and unable to defend yourself. None of us have the right to judge that, hell the only one that is judging that is you." He paused for a long moment and spoke lowly so only she could hear, "I don't think you are even blaming yourself for what she did, you blame yourself for Cerberus being able to control you."

"I thought I was stronger." Cayle said, barely above a whisper. Garrus chuckled slightly.

"You are stronger, you broke their hold, most probably never would have, you need to focus on that. Shepard you are the strongest person I know."

Cayle looked to him, "But the Dalatrass?"

"That was Cerberus, not Commander Shepard. I know you didn't like the woman but you would never have killed her, least of all like that. If she needed to be taken care of you would have done so face to face and you would have made sure she knew why. You need to stop punishing yourself for something you had no control over. Save that blame for where it belong, Cerberus."

Shepard turned and looked to Garrus for a long time. They had been best friends for a very long time and new each other very well. Both Garrus and Tali had been at her side through everything, good and bad. She was thankful they were here now. Garrus always seemed to know what to say.

"Cerberus," She echoed and smiled slightly, "What would I do without you Garrus."

"Well, you probably would not have save the galaxy without me covering you back," he joked and they laughed.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door and Falere entered the room. "Your next," she said to Liara. The room became quiet Shepard looked to Liara.

"We'll all wait for you on the chambers," Tali said taking Garrus' hand and leaving, the others followed suit.

"I have a good feeling about this, Cayle," Liara said with a smile. She reached up and kissed her. "We'll be fine."

"Yeah, I hope so," Shepard said looking at the door, "If not there is always the conjugal visits."

As Liara and Shepard walked up the podium she could feel everyone's eyes resting on her. There were some surprise gasps and an overall murmur to be heard throughout the chambers as people began to realize who she was. Even before she reached the podium the audience was giving her a standing ovation. Liara squeezed her hand and smiled at her slightly as she felt the temperature rise in the Spectre. She had never felt Shepard so tense.

By the time Cayle stopped she was at a complete loss of words. The speech she had planned in her head had disappeared. She looked around as people continued and she spotted Admiral Hackett smiling to her and clapping. She could only wonder who had filled chambers, was it Hackett? Would he see this as an advantage, was it an advantage? Again she thought of Garrus words, did she feel guilty about the death of the Dalatrass or the fact that Cerberus had controlled her? Did she feel like she had to be punished because she was weak?

She waited, gripping the podium tightly as the council calmed the crowd down. Once they were quiet she looked up to the council. As usual they were a hard bunch to read.

"Commander Shepard," Sparatus started talking first, "I must admit that this is a surprise and an honour." He was quiet for a few seconds. "May I be the first to welcome you back from where ever it is you came from?"

"Well, that was why I came here, to explain what had happened, I just didn't expect it to be, so public," She admitted.

"Well then, I am sure everyone here is waiting to find out," the Turian continued to speak for the council.

"Well," Shepard looked to Liara who smiled gently back, "First of all I am glad I am back and I am happy to see most of the council survived the attack. I imagine that the question you all want to ask is where I have been," She paused again and then straightened out. "Five years ago I sacrificed myself right here to end the Reaper war." She paused as she thought back to that time, the choice she was forced to make, the choice no one would ever know about except Liara. "I thought my life was over and I guess for a little while it was. Apparently I was wrong. I was found in the rubble by Cerberus and whisked away to a lab."

This time she looked to Garrus, he was right; she was more ashamed that they had taken control of her then what she did when she was controlled. She remembered the night when she was fourteen and the gangs had gotten a hold of her, it was the same feeling. She had been used and had no control over it. Hopefully, like then, she would make sure it would never happen again.

"Cerberus used hypnosis to control me, used my weaken state to allow it to take hold. For the next four years I believed I was someone else, a Cerberus Assassin. As this Assassin they used my skill to commit crimes that I would never have committed." She looked around the room as everyone was listening intently. She looked to the Human councillor whom she did not know. "It pains me to realize, as this assassin I was the one tasked with the assassination of Dalatrass Linron."

She paused as she heard a slight murmur from the people in attendance. "At this time I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the Salarian people and I would hope that they know that I would never have done that of my own free will. It was shortly after this attack that I was found and Cerberus' control broken. "

Shepard took a deep breath, "I have come here today to make this confession and to surrender myself to the Council. I will abide by whatever reparation they deem necessary."

It was quiet, quieter then Cayle expected it to be as everyone seemed to be holding their breath. She certainly knew she was. Liara reached out and took her hand as they watched the council. Tevos looked from one councillor to the other and then began to speak.

"Commander Shepard, I would like to be first to say that there are no words that could express our happiness at seeing you alive. It was a sad day when you were finally declared dead and the search ended. The Galaxy was a poorer place when we all believed you were no longer in it. I believe I speak for the council in saying that what Cerberus did to you was a travesty and a crime, one that will not go unpunished."

She paused, "In the time that I have known you, you have been petulant, demanding and hard headed but you have always been so with the best of all of us in mind. We have disagreed on a great many things and you have even hung up on us a couple times out of frustration. I have found over time that you are emotional because you care, because you wanted to protect us from harm. I have also found that every time we have not listened to you, disaster struck."

Again she paused, Shepard would have crossed her arms over her chest had Liara not been holding her hand. "There is not one person in this room that does not owe you their life and I think I speak for all of them when I say that it was Cerberus that killed the Dalatrass not Commander Shepard and there will be no reparations. If anyone thinks differently, they can come forward now."

Again the room was quiet. The Asari councillor waited a moment before speaking again. "Well Commander Shepard, I believe you have your answer. Welcome back."


	21. Chapter 21

**I would like to thank everyone for the multitude of reviews lately, it had really made me feel like I am starting to do something right and as alway they offer me encouragement, so for all those that have been supporting me through reviews thanks you very much.**

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Shepard paced with her arms crossed over her chest. She had almost left the chambers on a successful note when the Human counsellor had requested that she meet her in her office. Request was putting it mildly, Cayle had the distinct impression that if she did not meet the councillor that bad things would happen. She really did not want to think about what type of bad things, she just knew she did not have a good feeling about this meeting.

She had come alone and now paced in the woman's office alone. She could not help but notice it was in the exact same spot as Udina's office had been in, built a bit differently but in the spot. She could only wonder if that was a bad omen.

She paused in front of the large fish tank that adorned the wall. She watched as two Thessian porier eels glided by. They were so graceful and elegant, much like the Asari themselves. The tank also contained a school of millet seed butterfly fish and three jelly fish. It was almost as big as the one Shepard had enjoyed on the Normandy, except with less dead fish. She remember how happy she had been when she had purchased that fish feeder on the Citadel prior to the war, she had been getting sick of spending thousands of credits on the things. She found herself wondering how her fish were doing now.

The middle of the room was decorated with a circular rug with definite Asian designs on it; on the rug sat a desk and three chairs.

When Udina had his office here had a straight desk, made of some metal and nothing really special stuck in Cayle mind. This councillor had an antique maple president's desk and it was in impeccable shape. Shepard could smell the old wood; it was always one of her favorite smells.

The Spectre took a second to look around the room. The woman seemed to have good taste. The room was sparsely decorated that being one thing the two of them had in common. Cayle did not like a lot of clutter either. The councillor had a fondness for abstract as Cayle noticed she had a few Salvador Dali reprints as well as the more modern Visions of Ilos series painting. Other than that the room had an abundance of plants, something the councillor and Shepard did not have in common. Green things tended to die when the Shepard touched them.

Chuckling to her herself she moved over to the imposing older woman's desk and picked up her name plate, Councillor Vicky Burnett.

"Well Vicky," Shepard said lowly, "Is this going to be a love, love relationship or are you going to throw me to the wolves."

Udina would have been furious. He hated not being in the loop and not because he really needed to be in it, he was just a controlling bastard. She knew that was the reason he had hated her being a Spectre was that he had no control over her. That was also why he had named Williams as a Spectre. It was the same reason he eventually turned to Cerberus, he had no control over the council.

Ashley would have some day made a brilliant Spectre, but, at present, she was a soldier and she followed orders, Alliance orders. Ashley would always look out for others but Humanity would always come first, the marine was slowly changing and Cayle had faith that she would be the Spectre the council was looking for someday; it was just not right now.

She had, after all, been the one that had killed Udina when he tried to backstab the council. Shepard had almost taken the shot then. Her finger had twitched more than once on the trigger but in the end she trusted Ashley to the right thing and her friend had, that was all that mattered.

Shepard gently placed the name plate back on the desk and looked to a picture; she smiled as it was obviously a wedding picture. The woman was pretty, Shepard guess maybe fifty, fifty five years of age. It was her skin that gave her age away, the slight wrinkle around the eyes. She still had that ginger coloured hair with no signs of white. The councillor didn't seem to wear any makeup but obviously did not need any; she was that natural sort of pretty. In the picture she was smiling and when she smiled her whole face smiled, Cayle had always liked that. In the council chambers though, there had been no such smile on her face.

Shepard was surprised to find that the Councillor was married to a Turian, she thought of Garrus and Tali. The councillor was much younger in the photo, maybe ten or fifteen years younger.

"We were married a couple years before the war," the Councillor stepped into the room from her private hallway. "He returned to Palavin in the first wave, I was lucky though, he came home after the war."

"I'm glad that worked out for you Councillor, a lot of families were destroyed during the invasion," Cayle said in earnest.

"Yes, lucky, that and he is a fine warrior," Burnett said. Cayle was surprised that her husband would not have been a politician as well.

Shepard looked up to the woman not having anything to add to the conversation. She had no idea of who the councillor was or what she was thinking. Cayle imagined she was probably angry, the Spectre had gone behind her back and approached the council without her knowledge. She had no idea of what to expect. Instead of moving behind her desk Councillor Burnett stood directly in front of her.

Shepard noted she looked taller from far away. Standing in front of her like this Cayle realised how short the woman actually was. She could actually see the top of her medium length ginger hair and she note she had green eyes which usually denoted temper.

"You made a fool of us today," The woman said glaring up at her. "Imagine how it looked that the Human Councillor was the last person to know that the most famous human ever was alive. You by passed me and the Human government in favour of grand standing in front of the council."

"I wasn't trying to grandstand anyone, honest," Cayle said, not grandstanding per say anyway. Councillor Burnett looked at her for a few moments before sitting down at her desk. Shepard turned to watch her.

"You figured by turning yourself into the council you would escape persecution by the Alliance parliament and military."

"I wasn't really thinking," Shepard paused, "Persecution is a big scary word. Do you think I deserve persecution?"

The politician leaned back in her seat. "I don't know, do you think you deserve persecution, that was what you expected when you came here, was it not?"

"I came to make a confession, my crime was…"

"You worked with Cerberus for five years regardless of who was in control of you. I am not saying we would not have come to the same conclusions the Council did but we deserved a right to be trusted, we are you people Shepard," The woman argued.

"I humbly disagree Councillor, Yes I am Human and yes I am part of the Alliance, but first and foremost I am a Spectre. My people are all the races and those in this galaxy we don't know about yet. The Alliance Parliament and the military knew this when they allowed me to be appointed Spectre. I did not come here without the intention of going back to Earth, this was my first stop."

"And you did not think to come to me?"

"I don't know you. I figured you would have stopped me."

"Perhaps," the woman said, "But it would have been the respectful thing to do."

"If Commander Shepard had come to you she would have already be tried and hung." This came from Hackett who had slipped in the room undetected. Shepard let out a breath, glad to have an ally.

"The Salarians blamed us for the death of their Dalatrass," The councillor stated simply.

"They blamed us for the lack of security; they blamed Cerberus for the Assassination. I blame the Alliance for their lack of information on Cerberus. Shepard was not responsible for her actions at the time. I doubt you would be able to find anyone who would not see it that way, especially now." Hackett sat down across from the Councillor, leaving Shepard as the only one standing. He lifted one leg up onto the other and made himself comfortable. Cayle had a hard time not smiling seeing how angry this made Burnett. "You're just angry she didn't come to you first and give you control over what happened."

"We both know if Shepard had gone to Earth first she would never have made it here." The Admiral continued. She was amazed at how smoothly political he could be. That was one area she was not the best at. "They would have locked her up and interrogated her. Then they would have kept her locked up thinking that it would placate the Salarians. No one would win in that situation. This was the best way out for everyone."

As Shepard watch the two she could not help but think of the arguments Udina and Anderson would get into, most of the time over her as well. It was too bad that things had ended the way they had, with both men dead.

Unlike most people, Shepard didn't think Udina was completely unredeemable. She honestly thought he was pushed into siding with Cerberus when the Council repeatedly ignore Humanities pleas for assistance, first in the Traverse then when Earth was attacked. Cayle doubted that Udina had been in Cerberus circle for very long. He was just easy to recruit given his frustrations. Udina truly wanted what was good for humanity; he was just blinded in the end.

She had been with Anderson when he died but she had never had a chance to mourn him. She had tried, after opening the arms, to be with him, but as she rested beside him she had been called upon again because nothing was happening. Then she thought she had died, she had sacrificed herself to destroy the Reapers, the Catalyst has said she would die. She remembered pain like she had never felt before, then calmness, then vaguely waking up and more pain, then Cerberus found her. She never had the chance to go through the mourning process. She was not even sure where to start it now.

"She had an obligation to the Alliance," Burnett stated banging her finger against her desk, "And while I understand the whole Spectre thing she moved behind my back and the back of her people." The woman sighed. "What's done is done; we can't go back and change it now."

"My point exactly," Hackett said threw tight lips. Shepard realized that it had been Hackett that had filled up the chambers. He would probably never admit to it but he didn't have to.

"So what happens now?" Shepard asked.

"Now we discuss this device and your plan on getting it back. I will go and talk to the Alliance Brass about reinstating you and seeing that you are granted amnesty for the crime that Cerberus committed while in control of you. I am sure Councillor Burnett will be able to assist you with anything you might need."

"Reinstate me?" Cayle said slowly, she obviously did not have a choice the matter. "What does mean, exactly?"

"Well Shepard, the SSV Vigil has now completed construction and its first Commanding officer will be Ashley Williams. That leaves a spot for a Commander open on the Normandy," Hackett said looking up to her; both the Councillor and Shepard looked at him in shock. Shepard bit her lip and spun around.

She wanted to be back on the Normandy, she had always felt as though it was an extension of her, almost as much, if not more, than Joker did. In thinking that there was one thing she did want more and that was Liara. Things were going far too fast at the moment. She was not sure what she had expected from this day but being thrust back into her old life in one fell swoop was not it.

She wanted the Normandy, she wasn't going to be able to hide that, she just was not sure how Liara and children fit into that. She would never want a family on a ship like that. She did not see Liara as a stay at home mother either, she was the Shadow Broker and she was a very successful Shadow Broker. She twisted her fingers together as she struggled with herself.

"It's not printed in stone," Hackett said sensing her internal discord, "Shepard I still have to go back to the Alliance Brass and see what they have to say in the matter."

"I think you're pushing things along a little too eagerly Admiral," Burnett said. "Before we give the Commander a ship, especially one as essential as the Normandy we need to do some test. Figure out what Cerberus did to her and be damn sure it can't be done again."

The small woman stood and moved over to her, "I understand who you are, Commander," she started, "and I respect and appreciate the sacrifices you have made for everyone. I even think you are a hero despite what it may look like, but you just admitted that Cerberus had control over you for five years. I am not saying I do not trust you, because I trust and admire Commander Shepard very much, even though you went behind my back, but we really need to make sure Cerberus can't speak a word and control you again."

"They can't, Miranda Lawson made sure of this," Cayle argued.

"Miranda Lawson is an Ex-Cerberus agent herself," Burnett started but Shepard held up her hand.

"I trust Miranda with my life, Councillor."

"Miranda Lawson has been a valuable and loyal asset to the Alliance since she defected from Cerberus," Hackett surprised Cayle by adding.

"What I am saying is that Shepard has pretty much not even been back a day. There are hoops we all have to jump through to figure out exactly what that means. We need to slow down," the older woman said.

"I wish we had time," Shepard said turning, "Cerberus is on the move and they have Harbinger and they have some device that was extracted from Harbinger that is supposed to be powerful. I'm not sure anyone knows exactly why but I do know they wanted it back pretty badly. The rumours alone, about it, warrant us taking it out of their hands and destroying it."

"Destroy, is a pretty strong word," the Councillor said after a few moments of silence. She was obviously calculating some sort of plot in her head.

"Councillor, with all due respect, you have no idea of how close we all were, of being completely annihilated. I don't know what this device does but it's Reaper technology," Shepard could not help but think of the warning the catalyst had given, that someday the cycle will be restarted. Maybe not in her life time but it would come to pass. She hoped in her heart that it was wrong. This device scared her. "I don't think that it's wise to just give it to one race, if we go to get it we should be destroyed it. It could have, well it could do anything."

"What about if we re-open a joint task force on it with all the races taking part," Hackett added. "There are actually quite a few since the crucible; Cru Tech is a joint interspecies government funded research foundation. It is maintained by the Council and as said, funded by each race."

"I still don't know. We don't even know what it does or what it means. What if it wakes up the reapers, what if it restores Harbinger? We cannot duplicate what I did to stop the invasion," she said, nor was she sure she wanted to, not if it could all be avoided.

"I think it would be a shame to destroy it before we even figured out what it did. Cerberus must have some idea, it must be documented somewhere. They took out a large part of the Eclipse to get at it," the Councillor said. Shepard looked from Hackett to the small woman.

"We need to stop Cerberus first and foremost. They have this technology and they have a bad habit of being careless with stuff like that. They seem to believe in the test first, consequences later theory. I know, I still have Lissa's memories. We need to confront them and hit them hard," Shepard looked to Hackett. "I have already contacted Aria; with her aid we could probably take Omega right out from underneath the Ambassador." She stopped and for the first time thought about the man, she turned away from the other two. The Ambassador…

Becoming Lissa had been his project. He had been present since the day she had been found. She saw him in her first real memories after the explosion. She remembered the pain she endured and he would simply watch and she could hear him talk to others how her pain made her weak and susceptible to the hypnosis.

He had created Lissa's background and helped feed it to her. He had been the one that created the relationship the two of them had. He had used her in ways she never dreamed she would ever be used and it hit her in that second like a sudden slap in the face. She shook it off the best she could.

"Commander?" Hackett was concerned about her sudden quiet.

"The Ambassador," Cayle continued, "is the Head of Cerberus. He killed off their council and took over the operations himself. He is Cerberus in more respects then the Illusive Man ever was. The Illusive Man headed the largest branch of Cerberus, mostly the Military and weapons research. The Ambassador had taken over when he was killed but then Mr. Ambition decided it was not enough. He wiped out the Board that over looked the day to day operations of all the branches. I don't know if that was the top of the ladder or not, but that is where he controls."

Cayle turned and looked to Hackett. "I will go with Aria and a small team to Omega; she already has several of her people on the inside and had her mercenary groups ready to attack. If we can get in we can rally the populace and Cerberus would not stand a chance. It would look like Aria planned the attack and they would not suspect that the Allies are involved."

"That's a bold plan, Omega four is protected by an IFF interface," Hackett said.

"True, the Normandy is already fitted with one of those, we can replicate it or we can take the IFF off the Cerberus ships that would be stranded on Omega."

"You mentioned the allies; do you think they will join in?" Burnett asked, Cayle could see she was actually considering her idea. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

"They will have to; I don't think we can take on Cerberus alone. While we were healing and using our funds to rebuild they grew. I can tell you that beyond that relay is a sizeable force. With most of the council races still not even close to rebuilding their military they would wipe out any one of us, but together we have already proven how strong we can be," Shepard said turning to Burnett. "You need to get them on board."

The councillor seemed to think about this as she moved slowly to her desk, "I will do what I can," she said finally. "However that does not mean we are done addressing the assassination. I will need to talk to the Salarian Ambassador about that."

"I understand," Shepard said earnestly. She truly did, she knew had a Salarian killed a Human diplomat that the Humans would want someone to answer for that. They might have even mistaken it as an act of war. Salarians were different than humans, perhaps the most different of all the races, save maybe the Hanar. They lived short lives and as such they tended to go through emotional cycles much quicker than most. They were also scientist and analytical thinkers and as such would be able to see who the real enemy was much clearer than humans ever could. Even knowing that, Shepard still found herself worried about confronting the Salarians. This was a race that condoned genocide.

"Sounds like the beginnings of a plan, Shepard," Hackett stood and allowed himself a slight smile. "It is good to have you back, Commander." He held his hand out and Shepard took it.

"I'm glad to be back." She said with a smile, now she just needed to figure out what she was going to do with herself.


	22. Chapter 22

Akuze was a terrible experience for many reasons that Cayle had never spoke of. She remembered when she had joined the Alliance that she thought she had elevated herself from being a killer that she would actually be fighting for those that could not, for a cause that would always be worthy. She knew it would never be that perfect, but she never believed that the Alliance would have actually recruited her to do much the same as she had been doing with the Bloods. Sneaking around, infiltrating, and killing people when they didn't even have a chance to fight back.

With every squeeze of the trigger she felt a part of herself die. She had no friends, nor did she want any. She went through spotters more than people went through clothing. People did not want to work with her because she never talked, at least not above and beyond gathering the information she needed for the shot. She was beginning to think that life was not worth the hype she kept hearing about.

One thing about the Alliance though, they had toys. The new infiltration kit that had been programmed into her omni tool was something else. Add to that a nice cyro freeze defence and she had decided that she no longer needed a spotter and the Alliance had agreed; or rather they had run out of people to pair her with.

When she had not been working she would stay at home and watch vids of normal families doing normal things, living a life she had been denied. She watched them because she had to believe what she was doing was worthwhile. She would never live that life, but she would fight to make sure everyone else could.

She had been assigned to a squad for her mission to Akuze. They were going to find some missing pilgrims; she was going to kill one of them. The leader of the colony on Akuze had been in contact with Cerberus and the Alliance had learned that Cerberus just might be involved with the disappearance of the colonist. The Alliance wanted the leader killed, and they wanted to pin it on Cerberus. Cayle did not care about the particulars she just wanted to take the shot and leave.

She had left camp using her cloak shortly after night had fallen. While the squad she was with was heading to the colonies main sight Shepard was actually going to their last known location. While she moved through the darkness, dressed all in black, she thought about her assignment. She would kill this man that the Alliance wanted dead and then she would locate any survivors if she could. It was not a part of her orders but she desperately needed to do something to make everything feel right.

She had not even been gone twenty minutes when she felt the ground shake roughly around her. She had never heard of a thresher maw before, so she had no idea of what it was. She just knew something was moving under her at a quick rate. She looked behind her as she realized it was heading straight for the location of the squad that she had just left. She stood completely still for a few seconds as she wondered what it could be. Maybe Cerberus had a secret weapon and they knew the Alliance was present on the planet. She got a bad feeling.

She began to run, a light jog at first to conserve her energy, which turned into a sprint as she heard the sounds of gun fire. The squad was under attack. She ran as fast as she could and as she got closer she noticed the gun fire was accompanied by screaming. She broke out into the clearing of the camp and froze.

With eyes wide she looked up at the giant worm like creature, she had never seen anything like it before. She released her black widow from her back and aimed at the creatures head, it was dark so she could not get a good shot. It took a moment to realize there was more than one of these things. She took a shot anyway but did not stay to admire her aim. She holstered her rifle and sprinted into the camp.

When they had arrived there were more than thirty members of the squad. Now there was only a handful. She grabbed a young kid as he backed into her firing up at the giant creature.

"Get into the Mako," She ordered him. He wasn't listening. When his clip was empty he continued to dry fire. "Dammit."

She could not help but noticed that the boy look barely old enough to be here, his face still lined with acne. She growled and grabbed around the neck and dragged him to the Mako. "Get in Marine," she ordered. He nodded wordlessly and climbed up and into the Mako.

Cayle calmly moved around the camp as the sound of gun fire subsided. She found only one other alive, but injured. She winced as she noticed it was a gunshot wound to the stomach. "Can you walk?" She asked the girl. She could not have been much older than Cayle herself.

"Can't feel my legs," the woman responded. Cayle nodded, the bullet must have lodged itself into her spine. Shepard held her assault rifle in one hand and hauled the woman up and over her shoulders.

"I'll walk for you," Cayle answered. She moved a little bit slower back to the Mako and placed the woman inside. She looked to the kid. "You keep an eye on her and don't let her lose consciousness."

The kid looked at her with wild eyes. Cayle bit her lip. "Yeah ok," she hauled herself up and into the driver's seat. There were still at least three of the giant worms out there. They were all in front of her, she took a moment too looked around. The ground here was soft but she knew she had just come from the beginnings of a rocky area. She would head there and hopefully the worms would not be able to follow.

"Hold on," She called back to the two that were with her. She bit her lip and spurred the truck forward. She knew she was not the best driver and the Mako's were not the most stable of vehicles. They were made for rough terrain and had the most horrible shock system ever. Every little hole or bump you hit caused the machine to jerk in a new direction. It did not bode well either that she had almost failed her driving course, the third time through.

She raced as fast as she could fight the controls as she split her focus between the hills and the three creatures behind her. They seemed none too interested in the vehicle as it continued to pick up speed.

"She's not breathing," The kid finally spoke from behind. It startled Shepard enough that she turned around to look. Sure enough the young woman was unconscious.

"Oh my god," The kid shouted and as Cayle turned back to the front a large worm appeared in front of her and sent the mako flying…

"Excuse me," Said an older rough looking man as he ran past Shepard, bringing her out of her horrible memories. Both the Kid and the woman had died that night, how she had survived she never knew. It had been four days before she woke up in an Alliance hospital room. The whole squad had been wiped out.

Shepard moved out of his way as he passed her on the running track. She continued to run around the track at her own speed as the decision to Command the Normandy weighed heavily on her. She had decided to run at the track at the Human Embassy to avoid crowds. Not too many people worked out there, one had to be a work in the Embassy or be a ranking officer to work out here.

When Anderson had visited her in the Hospital, Shepard had been suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, or that was what she was told. She simply wanted out. She could not and would not just kill people any more. She felt responsible for the deaths of the Marines on Akuze and she almost had a fit when she was told she was getting an award for her courage.

She had certainly not felt courageous. The only reason she had lived was because she had not been there, and had she been, maybe she would have been able to make a difference, maybe some more of the Marines would have made it out alive. They would never know.

As always Anderson took care of everything and next thing she knew she was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and brought to the Normandy to be Andersons First Officer. By all rights the Normandy was her saviour. It was within the crew of the Normandy she had become a completely new person. She had been allowed to get to know people and care, and she treasured every moment of it.

She had made good friends, Jeff Moreau being the first. She had been pretty much the only person who enjoyed his sense of humour. They had become quite close friends and always had each other's back, keeping each other out of trouble, or maybe more of her keeping him out of trouble. He had a bad habit of always speaking exactly what was on his mind. Keeping him out of trouble was a small price to pay since he was always timely with the picking her up when she was in dire need.

Then she had made friends with Kaidan Alenko. It had been a bit harder to make friends with him since neither of them were the most outgoing people. It wasn't until they both realized they were from Canada that they hit it off. She remembered staying up late one night with him just going over all of the Canadian clichés. Not that she knew many of them but he had kept her laughing as he made fun of most of them.

He had a crush on her and she knew it. He had never acted on it and she was fine with that. She enjoyed his company way too much as a friend to ever want to push it further. There were times though she felt guilty about not having the same feelings back.

She sighed as she felt the windows rumble slightly. The alliance docking platforms were just outside of the embassy and down a couple levels. The gym she was working out in had a good view of the platforms and usually it was comforting to watch ships docking and departing. As the window shook and grabbed her attention she noticed the slick aerodynamic shape of the Normandy. She did not need to see the name of the ship to know it. She could close her eyes and just recognize its landing pattern and sounds.

She jogged to the edge of the window and watched as it effortlessly docked and powered down. Her eyes narrowed as she knew it was here for her. She had not accepted Hackett's offer but he was trying to lure her to the dark side. She had not even told Liara about the offer, she was terrified to. She wanted to be back on the Normandy, it was her home and she felt a deep obligation to be there, but she wanted to marry Liara and have a family as well. She had never felt so torn in her entire life. She took a deep breath and turned and walked towards the shower. She no longer felt like running.

* * *

Liara found Shepard leaning against a rail in a hallway that had a wonderful view of the Normandy. She moved behind her lover and wrapped her arms around the beautiful Spectre. She loved it when Shepard was dressed in short and her oversized sweat shirt; it allowed her to marvel at her lovers shapely long legs. As she pushed herself against Cayle she inhaled deeply saving that fragrance of strawberries that she always smelt like. When Shepard was gone Liara had never been able to find anything close to that smell.

"You just had a shower," Liara kissed her neck. She could see the human smile through her reflection on the glass.

"Uh huh," was all she said, if that could even be saying anything, but it made Liara smile more knowing that Cayle was playing with her.

"Without me?" the Asari pouted. Cayle smiled more.

"Yeah, it was hard, I couldn't figure out which was the shampoo and which was the conditioner without you." Shepard smiled and turned to face her kissing her deeply. "I also realized how much shorter a shower is when I'm alone."

"You missed me?" Liara smiled coyly. Shepard let her fingers slide over Liara's skin, her thumb tracing her lips.

"I did, more then you'll ever know,"

"Show me,"

Cayle could not help feel a little fire start deep within her as she heard Liara say those two words, every time the Asari said them exciting things tended to happen. Shepard slid her thumb from Liara's lips and pulled her close she tilted her head slight and pressed her lips against Liara soft ones. She always felt like she was floating when she kissed her lover. If the Normandy had not been docked right outside the window Shepard would have found the closest closet and dragged Liara in. They parted and Cayle smiled looking deep into Liara's eyes.

"I love you Liara T'Soni, I don't think I can say that enough," Shepard said, she looked back to the ship as her options weighed heavily.

"I love you to Cayle," Liara sensed the shifting in the conversation. Shepard had stiffened slightly and her shoulder hunched that millimeter forward like they always did when she had to face a problem she didn't want to. Shepard brought Liara into her and held her in a deep hug, resting her face into Liara's neck.

"What's wrong?" Liara began to panic.

Cayle took a deep breath as they parted and faced the Normandy again, resting her forehead against the window. "Cayle, I'm getting worried."

Cayle took a breath and let it out on a huff, "Ashley is going to Command a brand new ship, which left an opening on the Normandy, and Hackett offered me the spot," she let it all out. She let the information fully hit Liara before she turned around.

"Do you want to go back to the Normandy?" Liara asked.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Shepard defended.

"That is not what I asked."

"I don't know," She answered honestly, "I feel torn."

"You've served your time for the Alliance, above and beyond what anyone could even expect from you," Liara said taking her hands, pulling her away from the window. "You don't owe them anything Cayle."

"No, not them," Shepard said in a whisper. She sighed and bit her lip as she leaned her forehead against Liara's

"Not them? What is it Cayle, what is it that drives you to constantly sacrifice yourself and your happiness?"

Shepard moved away and twisted her fingers together. "When I was just a kid, maybe fourteen, a bunch of guys from the gangs got a hold of me and they, they assault me." She said letting Liara read between the lines.

"Shepard, I'm sorry," Liara winced; Shepard never really talked about her past.

"No, it was a long time ago, but I was in the hospital for a long time afterwards and I met this woman. She was old and used up but I remember her telling me that I needed to get used to it, that I was just property to them unless I had a skill they needed."

"I didn't know Earth could be so rough," Liara admitted. She had heard stories from time to time and she had seen how degraded the slums were but other than Cayle saying she hated it there she really had no clue. She suddenly felt slightly guilty, all of her musing about her mother. Shepard had only known hers for five years and then spent the rest of her childhood fending for herself.

"After I got out of the hospital I stole myself a gun and I practised with that gun every day, for hours. I was a natural at it but I still crafted my skill," She paused for a long time. "I killed my first person before I turned 15 and I did it so well that I got noticed."

"Cayle, I," Liara started but Shepard reached up and placed a finger over her lips.

"By the time Anderson found me and convinced me to join the Alliance I had killed eighty nine people," Cayle turned and looked out the window, "When I was in basic training I had an Admiral come and see me. He put me through some test privately and I guessed I passed because he pulled me out of basic training and right into special ops training. My first years in the Alliance I did exactly the same thing I was doing before I joined the Alliance, except I was for working for a different company," She paused for a long time.

I remember listening to Thane talk about being an assassin. How he went on about him being the weapon and his employer being the one that pulled the trigger, it was never like that for me. For me every time I pulled the trigger a part of me died," she paused for another moment. "Then I went to Akuze and things didn't work out to well."

"That was when you lost your squad," Liara said, but it was more of a question.

"They were not my squad. I was there for a hit and got caught in the middle of the mess. I tried to save," She bit her lip remembering the face of the young kid whose name she had never known. "I tried to save them but I was too far away when the attack took place."

"And you think you owe those Marines?"

"No Liara," Shepard turned to her again. "I killed all those people from safety in the distance; they didn't even have a fighting chance. They didn't have a chance to be told why they were dying whether it was righteous or not. On earth, I just lined them up and pulled a trigger so that I would not be used by the gangs. Eighty nine people Liara, eighty nine people are dead for my own selfish purpose. If you ever wanted to know my motivation it was every single one of them."

"So, the Alliance was your punishment?" Liara said not fully understanding. Shepard smile slightly.

"No, the Alliance was my atonement. Having the ability to save lives that came when I joined the Normandy, that's when I truly lived Liara. Until the Normandy I was dead. All I ever wanted was to make a difference, make a difference or die trying. Making things better was, is important to me, I have to do it, it drives me."

"And your happiness?"

"It didn't matter, until I met you. It still doesn't matter, but your happiness means everything to me."

Liara looked to her lover for a long moment, living her even more if it was possible. She always knew Cayle was selfless but she had never understood her motivation until now. They both turned and leaned on the railing as they looked to the Normandy.

"Well that little side room made a very good office the last time I made the Normandy my home," Liara said, reaching out for Cayle's hand. "I mean I could use it as a satellite site and Falere and Feron are more than capable of taking care of my main ship."

"You're not going to live in that side room," Cayle said, taking Liara's offered hand and holding it tightly. "I would have a perfectly sized bed in my quarters with more than enough room for two people."

"Well then we would have to make sure we covered every inch of it." Liara turned and smiled to her.

"Oh I am sure we would not have a problem with that," Shepard spun quickly, pulling Liara into her and wrapping her arms around her. "I love you Liara," She whispered.

"Show me," Liara smiled and pulled away walking seductively to the lift. It would take about five minutes to get to her ship. Shepard looked at the Normandy one last time before she smiled wantonly and chased after her lover.


	23. Chapter 23

"Sir, I don't have what you would call people skills," Cayle argued, trying to convince Anderson of anything once he made up his mind was next to impossible. "I appreciate the promotion and the chance to serve on a crew, but you want me to lead them?"

"I have all the faith in the world in you kid," Anderson had said as they moved down the hallway to the Normandy. "You have paid your dues and it's time the Alliance can see what you can do."

"But I haven't, Captain," She argued. "Akuze," She trailed off.

Anderson stopped his walk and turned to her, placing a hand on either shoulder, he looked her in the eye. "Akuze is the past, Shepard, you either dwell in it and get lost, or you step out and let yourself feel the sun. You have shown me traits in a soldier that are not easily come by Shepard. Now you need to shake Akuze off and have a little bit of faith in yourself." He paused. "Listen, I'd be more worried if you didn't feel remorse, but you take the loss and you learn from it so next time you do better."

Anderson waited a second then turned back and continued his walk to the Normandy. "In the meantime welcome to the Normandy Shepard." He said with a smile as he guided her inside…

"Commander on Deck," came Jokers voice. It had been so long since she had heard it she had not realized how much she missed him. She could not help but smile slightly. She had been a nervous wreck as she got prepared to go aboard the Normandy for the first time since the Reaper invasion was ended.

For a while she thought she had been driving Liara insane as she paced and mumbled and constantly asked if she looked all right but then she realized that the beautiful Asari was just as nervous as she was. The last time Liara was on the Normandy they had wanted her to place a memorial plaque on the wall for Cayle.

She thought of Anderson and her first walk to the Normandy as she boarded and felt a sudden sadness, she was not sad that she was returning, the butterflies in her stomach told her she was slightly excited, but she was sad that Anderson was not here. He had been the first person that had ever cared about her and had become somewhat of a father to her. She missed him dearly.

She felt tears in her eyes as she looked to Joker, standing at attention and saluting. She saluted him back then couldn't help it as she hugged him. He was her oldest friend.

"Yeah Captain, I really missed you too, but bone, brittle," He said but smiled. He had met them in the airlock and no one else was present yet. As she looked to his face she knew why. She knew they must have had to pry him away from the Citadel when it was blowing up. She knew Joker well enough that it would have killed him to leave her behind. He had always been there for her. It was quiet as Liara hugged Jeff as well.

"Commander I," Jeff started and paused.

"No, it's over, Jeff," Cayle said. "You had a crew to save, you did the right thing. End of discussion."

Jeff nodded then looked up to her. "Well," Jeff looked around, "I for one am certainly glad you are back. You know I think Ashley is great and all but, wow, not so easy go lucky when she's in command."

"And you're saying I am?" Shepard raised a brow and smiled slightly.

"Well no, I didn't mean it like that, I just," he smiled, "Never mind, were just all glad to see that your back, and alive too, cause coming back and being dead would have sucked."

"Yeah I can see how that would have sucked," Cayle laughed and looked back to Liara who had not said anything. She could not really tell what the Asari was thinking. "Ready?"

"Not really, I don't exactly have the best memories from last time I was here," Liara said a frown crossing her face. Shepard turned to her and took both her hands.

"Then we start making good memories, together," Cayle said, kissing Liara on the forehead and turning back around.

"And maybe a video?" Jeff added.

"Some things never change," Shepard chuckled. She inhaled sharply and let it out in a huff as she headed into the ship. After Jeff the Edi was the next person she saw, Shepard smiled as the AI smiled to her. She knew Edi would have no idea of how glad Shepard was to see her up and around. When Shepard had made her sacrifice, Edi and the Geth had been a part of the sacrifice. Had not been for the Quarians they would have lost both.

Beside Edi stood Garrus, Shepard raised a brow as she looked to him; she had not expected him to be here. She stopped at the two of them.

"Edi," She said and placed a hand on the AI's shoulder, "I am glad to see you; I have missed our little talks."

"I have as well Commander, but there are always questions I can think to ask if you like."

"Anytime, Edi," she turned slightly. "Garrus, what are you doing here?"

Garrus laughed, "There is no Shepard without Vakarian, were a team Commander."

"That we are Garrus, but Tali?"

"Said that I was supposed to stop you from getting yourself killed this time and then she said that if you did go and get yourself killed, she was going to kill you," He explained, Shepard chuckled. She missed Tali.

"Garrus, it's would not be the Normandy without you," Shepard said.

"Yeah and I am sure that our main battery needs to be calibrated," Joker piped up. They all laughed.

"Well Shepard, here we are again, and there's a CIC full of people waiting to meet the new, old commanding officer," Garrus stepped out of her way. Cayle nodded and adjusted her uniform. She hated her blues at the best of times but when she was nervous it tended to itch around her neck.

She stepped into the long hallway that that lead to CIC, as she walked down she was overwhelmed by the memories that crossed through her mind. She had grown so much on this ship. She had found the woman she loved and died on the original Normandy. She had meet her friends and learned to love. She remembered every one of the crew members she had served with, especially those that she lost. As she walked into the CIC she took a deep breath as the entire crew was on hand and they started clapping. She looked back to Jeff who shrugged.

She had briefly contacted him before boarding the ship telling him she did not want anything special, she wanted it to be like another day at the office, she should have known better.

"This isn't exactly an office," Joker said moving up behind her as she had stopped. "Regardless of the last five years, this is your crew; there have been very few changes since you left."

Shepard spotted Engineering Adams and Doctor Chakwas by left and smiled. Joker was correct, as Shepard looked around most of the crew that she had left on the Normandy were still here. Donnelly and Daniels, Patel and Rolston, Mathews and that crewman whose name she could never remember, the one that had a crush on Kasumi, they were all still here.

She smiled as she steeped further into the CIC and the clapping stopped. "Well," She said, "I just want to let you all know that I'm still alive."

There was a round of laughter but no one left. Shepard had kind of hoped that they would all think that was all she had to say. She nodded, "Well, we have all been through a hell of a lot together," she paused; she had not really prepared a speech. "Commander Williams has left the Normandy to move on to a new and shiny ship. It's slightly bigger, not quite as fast, has a lot more firepower, but it is certainly missing a few things. It doesn't have the battle scars that we have," There was a slight cheer as a response, it help to spur her on. "It's doesn't have the defence system we have, it doesn't have Edi," Another cheer, Shepard smiled fully now, "And it most certainly does not have the best crew ever, because that honour belongs right here on the Normandy. This is my ship and you are my crew and I am damn glad to be back."

"Boo- yah," The crew shouted in unison.

"Now, let's get to work and show them why the Normandy will go down in the book of legend," there was a last cheer before everyone moved out to go back to duty.

"Well played," Garrus said moving up to her. She stood looking into the CIC with Liara on one side of her and Garrus on the other. Behind her Jeff and Edi moved back to the cockpit.

Cayle felt a stab of emotion rage through her and she fought it back. She said nothing but she could not help but feel like she was truly home.

* * *

With James Vega no longer living in the shuttle bay a fully stocked workout room had been built. It was fitting given how much time James had dedicated to working out. What had also surprised her was someone had set up a small boxing ring. She did not condone her crew beating the crap out of each other, but living in such a small condensed area for some times weeks at a time could sometimes foster bad feelings. A boxing ring was a prefect, safe place to get out frustration. She had used that concept on Vega once.

Cayle had always been able to throw a punch or get through hand to hand combat well. She had always been much better shooting things though. Lissa had pretty much been the same; however the Assassin had been learning to fight and had studied several forms of martial arts over the four to five years she was with Cerberus. Cayle had retained those skills.

They were heading back to Tortuga; again, it seemed that both she and Lissa really hated the place mostly for the same reasons. There were no laws and barely even a code. Slavery was the common trade and women were treated no better than dogs. If there was one planet she had hoped would have been decimated by the Reapers it was Tortuga. Unfortunately the hordes had not even gone near the planet.

There were very few people in the shuttle bay as Cayle took out frustration on a punching bag. Cortez was still on board and as always diligently working on the shuttles. There were a few other technicians wandering around and the Normandy was still home to Kel-9 who was pacing the length of the deck. She had never become attached to the small robot but she knew Cortes had. She had actually considered getting a real dog a few times, but a ship was no place for something like that. Perhaps someday when she and Liara settled, they'd have lots of little blue babies and a dog.

She punched the bag harder as she thought of the five years they had lost. Five years the Cerberus had stolen from her. She could only imagine what Liara had gone through. Knowing her lover she probably cocooned into her Shadow Broker role. She began to use her knees as well as kick the bag as she had been taught. The sounds of the impacts echoing in the shuttle bay as she breathed out with every strike. Sweat was trickling down her forehead and over her cheeks.

She could only wonder if she would have had children by now had Cerberus not interfered. She remembered the last conversation she had Anderson had, talking about settling down and starting a family. It was a nice dream but she had told him then that she did not think she would be good at settling down, she was still uncertain, but one thing she did know, deep in her heart; was she and Liara would make it work, somehow.

She punched the bag one last time and stepped away, leaving it to sway behind her as she looked over to her locker where her armour was stored. They just needed to stop the end of the galaxy once again before she and Liara could even talk about it. She smiled slightly at the thought as Garrus suddenly appeared from the lift. She nodded, removing her gloves as he approached.

"Found a new past time?" He asked looking at the swinging bag.

"Well one thing I can be thankful to Lissa for is the martial arts training she took. I think she took them to fend of Leng, he had a bit of a crush on her."

"That's actually a vision I don't want to think about," he said, "Good thing he's dead."

Shepard could only nod; she had made sure of that herself. Not that she felt guilty about taking him out; she felt slightly disturbed at how she had done it and the fact that she had enjoyed it slightly. A reminisce of her time as being Lissa. One that she hoped never repeated itself.

"Good thing," She echoed, now pulling the tape off her hands. Garrus leaned against a shuttle.

"We are at Tortuga, Aria is waiting for us."

"Good. You me and Liara will head down and pick her up. I'm sure she will have an entourage with her. She sent a message and said some Krogan by the name of Ren insisted on coming."

Shepard smiled, "He's an informant for the Blood Pack, used to be high up in the organization until he retired on Tortuga. He reminds me quite a bit of Wrex when we first met him. The only difference is I don't think he's quite as diplomatic. He is a hell of a fighter though, undefeated for as long as Lissa knew him."

"Hmm, not too sure I want a loose cannon Krogan on board," Garrus said, this caused Cayle to smile.

"I wouldn't say Wrex wasn't a loose cannon when he was aboard," she said, "Virmir was pretty close call."

"Yes but then Wrex is, well, Wrex," Garrus smiled.

"We will just make sure to keep an eye on him, we'll let him have Javik's old quarters and Aria can have Ashley's."

"This pan of yours is about as crazy as my Archangel plan was," Garrus said as they made their way to the lift.

"Not really we have Aria; she knows the station better than anyone. We will get using the Cerberus shuttle that the Alliance commandeered. Once inside Aria knows a route to get us to the atmosphere controls for the base. She also has the contacts to keep us safe. Cerberus houses their trooped in the Gozu district so we hit there, wipe out most of them immediately. Aria is a hundred percent certain that the civilians aboard the station will side with her and when the majority of Cerberus forces are taken out the remaining, policing elements of Cerberus will be overrun."

"And this all hinges on us not being spotted, that's huge risk Shepard."

"It's a big risk but we've taken worse. Aria's unified forces will be attacking from outside so that will cause a major distraction as well and when we have control of the station the Allies will show up to cement the deal and cut the relay off from the station."

They had reached the crew quarters and froze the lift. "That's not exactly the most solid plan I have ever heard."

"We've worked on less," Cayle said and smiled again, "hell most of the time we never even had a plan. Most of the time we just barge in and shoot everything; I think this is one of the better plans we've had in a while."

Garrus laughed, "Well I can't argue with that."

"Nope, no arguing allowed, Ill meet you back in the shuttle bay in a half hour, I need a shower."

* * *

"So Commander Shepard," Ren walked around her slowly, "I guess I should have known. Lissa was one tuff son of a bitch" he grunted his approval, "the blood pack doesn't much like Commander Shepard."

"You don't have to come with us Ren," Cayle replied coldly. Lissa and Ren were friends, but that did not mean that Lissa trusted him. He had done some minor backstabbing in the past, but then he had also had Lissa's back on occasion. Cayle did not hate him, but she certainly was not going to trust him, nor would she let him get away with anything. He was like most Krogan; you lay down the law firmly and quickly.

"I said the Blood Pack doesn't like Commander Shepard, I however think she's fleshy in all the right places and packs one hell of wicked punch." This comment elicited a glare from Liara who was already on edge knowing Lissa and Aria had a past.

"And if you don't want to experience it I suggest you behave. If you come aboard my ship, you play by my rules, understand?" Shepard said dryly. Ren smiled.

"Sure do, Commander Shepard." It was obvious that Ren found Cayle being Lissa a little bit humorous.

"I'm serious Ren, I won't play games, and I'll blow you right out the airlock if you step out of line."

"Relax Shepard; you're the boss, good nuff."

"Good, Come with me, you're staying in Port Cargo hold, Aria Liara will take you to the Star board observation room."

Aria looked from Shepard to Liara who smiled at her. Liara turned and nodded to Shepard. She was truly not happy that Aria was on board the ship but the Asari was needed. She was a big part of Shepard's plans. Liara watched as Shepard moved off with the large Krogan in tow. She turned and still smiled at Aria as she picked up one of her bags.

"Please, I'll show you to your room," Liara said and moved to the lift. Aria followed her.

"Well you do speak," Aria said as they stepped on the lift. "You know I thought the Shadow Broker would have more balls."

Liara said nothing as the lift took them to the crew quarters, the doors opened and they both stepped inside. Liara placed the bag on the ground. "There is a full kitchen just down the hall and we have a very good cook. Meals are made at seven, twelve and six sharp. Lefts overs are left in the fridge but usually there are none. On the other end of the hall is a lounge and occasionally a poker game. There is a fully stock bar but alas no stripper or dancers."

"That's too bad, nothing said ambiance like women dancing."

Liara ignored this comment and stepped closer to make sure she was in the Matrons face. "And for the record, my room is in the Captain quarters with my fiancé Commander Shepard." She stayed there for a second eye to eye with Aria for a moment then she smiled. "Enjoy your stay," she said and turned and left Aria standing alone.

* * *

**Well, I guess I am on the verge of 100 reviews, so I would just like to thank everyone that has been so supportive in this endeavour. I know the last few chapters have been slow but it's been a build up for the end stuff so thanks for plodding through it.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Well, thank you all, 100 reviews and thus far 24 chapters. I would never have thought it when I first started out a few months ago. I have never been good at finishing stories because I usually get to attached to the characters don't want to stop. However with the end in sight I just want to say that thus far this has been a hell of a ride and I am glad I could share it with someone(s).**

**Ok just went back thrugh and added soem stuff, was not happy with some things, still unhappy with others but not sure how to change it, feel free to rip it apart and let me know what you think needs to be added.**

Shepard sat in the Cerberus shuttle, wearing the Cerberus armour and felt uncomfortably comfortable. In her mind, even though she had never truly worn it before, she had been trained in it. In some made up world she had spent three years in it, eating, fighting and sometimes sleeping. She could not help but wish this had not been part of the plan.

She looked back to Liara who was also wearing Heavy armour and although she and the Asari were almost the same height and Liara was older than her, she looked like child in her parents armour. Cayle had never seen her in heavy armour before and it was more than obvious that she was almost as uncomfortable as she was. She did look pretty cute though.

Shepard smiled to herself and looked to Aria who had every right to be the most ill at ease. She was the prisoner in this scenario. Ren and Liara were the bounty hunters that had captured Aria; Cayle was the Cerberus officers bringing her to the prison area on Omega.

They had set everything up a few days ago and even captured a female Cerberus agent and took her identity. They had made sure she was a high enough ranking so Shepard would not be question. They had managed to find Lieutenant Commander Barrius who was now taking a break in an Alliance jail.

Many decision had to be made on who would go with Cayle and who would not. She had wanted to bring Garrus with her but she needed someone to Command the Normandy. Garrus was not a commissioned Alliance officer but Shepard knew everyone on that ship would listen to him as if he was. He was a good leader and expert tactician. It would not have been the same if she had left Liara behind. She loved the woman dearly but she was not military, at all.

The Allied armada would be led by the new jointly built ship Vigil which Ashley now controlled. Shepard had to admit she was impressed. In her absence several things had changed. The council had realized the need for the races to learn to work together and several joint ventures had been started. Most notable was the rebuilding of the Krogan.

Since the cure for the genophage had been introduced the Krogan had needed to rebuild their entire planet. The females still did not have litters like they once had, but they have short pregnancies. As much as the Allies needed to work on their own planets they had all sent workers to the Krogan home worlds to aid them there, except the Salarians who were not yet willing to be part of the Allies and still protested the cure of the genophage.

Things were still far from perfect in their little galaxy but they were well on their way to being a better place and Shepard was proud to be a part of that. Now she just needed to make sure Cerberus did not upset the balance the galaxy had found.

"Once we get on the lift we stop it and climb out the hatch." Shepard said making sure everyone was aware what the plan was. "We will wait until the mercenary groups start attacking the station and demanding a release of Aria. Once the confusion hit we head to the main engineering bay and Aria will shut down life support for the Cerberus areas of the station. They will be too busy trying to save their own to put up much of a fight. By the time they realize Aria did not make it to the prison cell the Allies will have joined the Mercenaries and cut the relay off from the station and start boarding."

Aria looked to Ren, "You make sure you get those orders to my contacts," she said. "They will make sure the place is in a riot so that the remanding Cerberus troops are tied up."

"Did I mention yet this is a terrible plan," Ren spoke up, looking to Shepard.

"Lots of fighting and killing, though you wouldn't care," Cayle said.

"I don't but I thought I would like to come out alive," he said and laughed, "You're just as crazy as Lissa."

"Don't," Shepard turned on him, probably more forcibly than she needed to, "don't ever compare me to her again."

Ren held up both his hand, "Sorry, my bad, won't happen again."

Liara moved over and placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder. She looked out the view screen as Cayle brought the ship into the lower level shuttle bay. "We'll be ok."

Shepard nodded as she landed the shuttle. She then stood and helped Liara with her helmet. They could not hide the fact that she was Asari, but they needed to hide the fact that she was Liara. Liara was well known to most Cerberus agents as being one of the most wanted Asari. She knew the Ambassador had her on the top of his list, mostly because he wanted someone he controlled as the Shadow Broker.

She put her own helmet on and turned to the other taking Ren's shot gun. She placed it on her own person, knowing the Cerberus guards would just take it away.

"Ok, the first thing they will do is give you guys the bounty, they won't let you come with us to the cells. You have Aria's orders and the list of people to get them to." Liara nodded and made her way to the door. Cayle grabbed Ren's arm before he could follow.

"If anything goes wrong, you get her the hell out of here, got that," She said.

"I'll take care of her," He said with a nod. Shepard could not help but wish that the Krogan was Wrex or Grunt. Lissa liked Ren but never fully trusted him, Cayle felt the same. She looked to Aria then followed Ren and Liara out the shuttle door. They were greeted by two Cerberus soldier.

"Welcome back, Aria, the Ambassador is on his way over here to talk to you. I am sure he has a lot to say," The taller one said. Shepard raised a brow. They would have to get things started before he got here.

"I'm glad he cares," Aria said simply.

Shepard stepped forward. "These are the two bounty hunters that caught her on Tortuga. You want to make sure they get their money while I take her to the holding cells."

"Yes Commander, they are expecting you," the same soldier said and turned to Ren "We just need you to hand over your weapons and come with us."

Ren looked to her as he handed over a pistol, Liara did the same. Shepard nodded to him as she and Aria moved off a different direction.

"I guess I owe you a thanks Shepard," Aria said, when they were alone, shifting her hand in the cuffs.

"Oh my, that must have been hard to say," Cayle said with a smile.

"You know Lissa might have been Cerberus, but she was a friend."

Cayle nodded, "I know, I have her memories, but I also have mine. It's hard to try and figure out if I should have my feelings regarding you, or hers. She certainly trusted you a lot more than I do, but then she saw a side of you I never saw, except I did. Besides, I, as me always liked you Aria. You are hard core, abrupt and strong most of the time abrasive and I have admired that about you. In saying that, Lissa is gone and I think it's better we act like Shepard and Aria."

"I was just saying thanks Shepard, I wasn't purposing marriage," Aria said and Cayle smiled. They reached the lift and stepped inside. The doors closed and Aria shrugged off the cuffs and pulled open the panel. "I'm going to send it half way down and then freeze it. Once they noticed we haven't arrived they will look for it, then they will have to get it working again, it will buy us at least half an hour, maybe forty five minutes."

As she worked Cayle reached up and opened the panel, pulling herself to the top of the box. "By that time the riots will have started."

"Once we reach the power relays I'll have no problem tapping into them and Cerberus will have no troops left for back up."

Cayle removed her helmet and left it on the lift as she took her grappling gun and fired it. "You get a hold of some great toys," she said, hooking the gun to her waist. Aria climbed up to join her and Cayle clipped them together then handed Aria her pistol. Cayle pulled the Asari closed and grabbed the wire. "This doesn't mean we're married," She said as the lift moved out from under them. She pressed a button on the side of the gun and it started to pull them up.

When they reached the end of the wire they forced opened the lift doors and climbed out. Cayle removed the grapple gun from her waist and threw it down the shaft. She looked to her watch. "Fifteen minutes left."

"This way," Aria moved quickly and Cayle followed. She could not help but think of Liara as they made their way through the station. They made it to the end of the first hall before they ran into two Cerberus officers. Cayle moved out first and approached them. Still wearing the Cerberus armour the soldiers did not give her a second look. She smiled at them slightly before removing her own pistol with a silencer and shot them. She felt a pang of guilt with each shot and stared at the surprised look on their faces.

She shook her head trying to get the feeling of guilt out. She was the woman that created storms wherever she went when she had a purpose. She had always done what she had to. This was no different.

"This isn't art Shepard, stop staring at your handy work," Aria said moving past her. Shepard looked away and followed the Asari to what appeared to be some sort of a control room. They slipped inside and Aria moved quickly to a row of computers and switches.

"Jeez, I'm glad you know what you are doing," Cayle commented.

"I'm not just a pretty face, I took control of this station once because I knew what I was doing," Aria smiled to herself more than Shepard as she began to enter several commands. Alarms began going off as Aria activated the monitors. The riots had begun and the she had locked out the lower Cerberus housing areas. Cayle watched as the Cerberus officer were trying to find ways to get out. "Life support removed."

Shepard looked from her to the screen. It would take the area a while to lose what air they had left then the panic would set in. Again Shepard could not help but feel slightly guilty. "Check, see if the attack on the station as started" She said. Aria changed the monitors and sure enough a battle was raging outside of the station.

"Well, that was smooth," Aria said and straighten.

"It just, I don't know, it felt way too easy," Cayle said. Something felt off to her.

"I suggest we get out of here and not dwell on it." Aria said and moved past her.

Shepard nodded and turned to follow Aria only to find that their exit was cut off. Several Cerberus soldier were coming into the room, followed by the Ambassador himself.

"Cayle, really, you would think you, of all people knew just how far my reach was," He said as he moved closer.

"How?" Aria asked the look on her face told Cayle she was equally surprised by this.

"Oh come now, really, you work with mercenaries and you ask me how I got one of them to back stab you. It's not hard, just flash credit and they line up. Loyalty is only as deep as your pocket." The Ambassador said. He focused on Aria. "Now, if you could please, turn the life support back on and release my men."

Aria looked to Shepard and in a split second Cayle made up her mind. "Make sure she's safe," she said knowing Aria knew damn well who she was talking about. Shepard removed two grenades from her belt, one went towards the Ambassador and the Cerberus soldiers, who dove for cover, and the other went to the console where Aria had been working. She dove for cover herself.

"Catch her," The Ambassador yelled. Cayle threw another grenade in that direction. She then removed her pistol and started firing taking down a Cerberus soldier that had almost grabbed Aria as she made her way out the door. Cayle ran deeper into the room. She needed to find a vantage point. She was not going to do much damage to heavy armoured Cerberus troops with her pistol. She removed her black widow from her back and held it in off hand as she fired at a trooper with the pistol.

"That was really stupid of you Cayle. This is an engineering room, not enough of an area for your widow." The Ambassador shouted as if reading her mind. Her eyes darted about the room as she tried to stay in the shadows, which was impossible in the white Cerberus armour. She began to pull it off and let it fall to the floor, keeping only her omni tool, belt and weapons. She quietly moved on to find herself a decent size console to hide behind.

"Cayle don't make this difficult. I would rather take you alive. I can still salvage you."

That was alarming. Miranda had convinced the Doctor to switch sides and work for the Alliance; they had been told he was the only one who knew all the secrets of the hypnosis. She closed her eyes and listened. She counted the foot falls and recorded the movements in her head. She was out numbered, horribly outnumbered. She had limited options; none of them included her walking out the door on her own.

She closed her eyes and thought of the last while with Liara, they had spent every spare moment they had together, almost as if they were afraid it would get taken away again. She typed six words into her omni tool and sent them away. Smiling slightly she hefted her black widow to her shoulder and raised herself to a kneeling position. She took her three shots and was satisfied with three surprised soldiers dropping to the ground. Pulling out her and Liara's pistols she jumped over the console and opened fire at any one that moved.

She walked slowly as she felt a bullet hit her in the shoulder and she stepped back, her hand reflectively dropping the gun in it. She raised the other arm to shoot the man that had hit her but someone charged into her back. She grabbed the man around the neck and dropped to a knee, bringing him over her head and activating her omni blade. She sunk it deep into him and spun, hearing the footfalls behind her.

She fought them as hard as she could, all the while thinking of the time she and Liara had shared, thinking of how much she loved the woman she wanted to have as a wife. There were so many of them and she knew the outcome of this battle but she fought any way.

She would not be Commander Shepard if she just gave up.

* * *

Liara and Ren had made sure the docking platform for the Normandy was secure. When it landed Garrus was the first one out followed by the small compliment of marines. Thus far Liara had been amazed that everything had gone so well. Other than the fact the Ambassador might be aboard, everything had gone according to plan, at least on their end.

They had managed to get the message out to all the people Aria had wanted it go out to and they had even help incite some of the riots. The Cerberus soldiers were unprepared and overwhelmed quickly. No backup troops arrived so they had figured Shepard and Aria had been successful. They had taken control of the upper shuttle bays and most of the docking rings and allied forces and mercenaries were landing to help take control of the rest of the station. All and all Liara was quite happy.

She smiled as Garrus joined her and Ren in the hallway. "Things are in control here, how bout out there?" Liara asked.

"It was rough, I'm not going to lie," Garrus said. "There was an armada of ship already on the way to the station, almost as if they knew what was happening, I don't think they expected us though. There was enough take out the mercenaries but when we came in they obviously did not expect it."

"They must have known," Ren said, "At least about the mercenaries, which means there was a leak on that end. I don't think Aria told the groups about the Allies joining the battle."

"That was a good thing then." Garrus said.

"If they knew about the attack," Liara said, her stomach knotted instantly, "Then they probably knew about Shepard." Without saying anything Liara turned and started to run.

"Liara!" Garrus took off after her. He stopped her before she got too far. "You're not going to help anyone running off half cocked."

~Garrus,~ Jokers voice filled the air, ~Cerberus is retreating.~

"Garrus," Liara looked to him but he was already looking past her. She turned to see what had attracted his attention. Liara's omni was beeping but she was ignoring it.

"Aria," She noticed the Asari was injured immediately. Garrus and Ren moved quickly to the Asari's side. Aria had obviously been in one hell of battle. She has several cuts about her head and was limping. There was a deep cut on her left shoulder. Liara could only stare, not able to move.

"Where's Shepard?" Garrus asked since Liara was too frightened to speak.

"She made me leave," Aria said, Liara felt anger surge through her.

"What do you mean she made you leave, you abandoned her?" She shouted moving face to face with the elder Asari.

"We were trapped in the engineering bay, so told me to make sure you were safe and made a distraction so I could get out."

"And you left her," Blue wisps of smoke flared from her body as her hands formed into fist.

"Liara," Garrus said and pulled Liara away.

"I went back to help her but there were a lot of them. When they left, they took her alive." Aria explained. Liara paced as she listened, her biotics dancing angrily, threatening. "I got spotted and couldn't get to her. I tried but there were a lot of them. I barely made it out."

Liara continued to pace, afraid that if she stopped she would damage some thing or someone. She wanted to be furious at Aria but the woman had obviously tried to help Shepard and she looked like hell. She ran her hands over her crest and realized for the first time that her omni was still beeping. She paused and activated it.

"It's a message from Cayle," She said looking up to Garrus. With a shaking hand she opened the message.

I love you, come get me, she read.


	25. Chapter 25

Liara was not happy with the wait, she wanted to run through that Omega four relay and get her lover back now. She still could not believe that Shepard was gone, yet again. When this ended she swore she was going to have the two of them joined at the hip. The only good thing she could think of right now was that the Ambassador needed the Spectre for something, or he would have just killed her. She could not think of what he'd want with her though and that is what scared her most.

Shepard was already having problems dealing with what the Ambassador had originally done to her. Cayle would not talk of it but Liara felt her jerking awake at night or even some times calling out. Even when they melded there were things that she hid from her. Liara knew Shepard had grown up in the slums and she knew how her mother had died, but they were things Shepard always kept to herself and now she tried to block out what had happened to her as Lissa.

I love you, come get me.

Liara looked into the mirror above Shepard's desk; her reflection looked back to her. She had a small cut about her right eye from the riots they had started on the station. It was small compared to what some others had gone through. Aria had fought to get Shepard back, more than Liara would have expected her too. She had almost been killed and all Liara had for the fiasco was a small cut above her eye.

"Dammit Shepard," She curse and was about to continue when the door chime went off and Garrus stepped into the room.

"You ok?" he asked. She looked at him as if he had two head.

"When does this ever stop?" She asked tears starting to burn her eyes. "Goddess I love that woman but I don't know if I can take much more."

Garrus moved to her and took her hand in his and sat her down on the bed. "Shepard is Shepard Liara; we both know that no matter how much she wants to, she can't stop. She has this drive and need to make life better for everyone and she is completely selfless in its execution. She just acts, that is what makes her the best damn Spectre I have ever seen. It's why I will follow her into hell and back and why you love her. She acts with her heart, always. She loves you Liara, that deep love the trend sends words. I can see it in the way she looks at you and talks about you, the way her eyes light up when she's thinking about you. It give her the courage to do what she has to do, you give her the courage to do what she has to do." Garrus looked into Liara's eyes and reached up and dried her cheeks wear the tears were trailing down.

"We both know we can and will take more, you are just as strong as she is Liara. You never gave up when everyone else declared her dead. You've never given up on her; don't give up on her now. We all know if anyone can make it out of this it's her. You know she is worth it. You know she will always come back to you."

Liara looked to him for a long time before looking over to a picture of her and Cayle in each other's arms. "It's hard, Garrus, all this worrying, seeing her hurt or struggling. I know she's selfless and always puts others before herself, but I want her to put us before everything just for once. I'm not as selfless, I want her, and I'm selfish about that."

"Liara," Garrus smiled slightly, "she does put you first, above everything. She thinks of what would happen to you if she just let things go. She puts you above everyone and she measures all her decisions based on keeping you safe. If anything, have faith in her love for you cause I know she has faith in your love for her, it's what keeps her strong."

"Oh Garrus," Liara said giving him a hug, controlling her tears, "when did you ever become so wise."

Garrus laughed as they parted, "I'm a father now, and it seems to come with the job."

"You're an amazing friend and I think your children are very lucky to have you as a father," she dried her eyes.

"And some day you are going to make one hell of a mother."

"I don't know Garrus, it seems as though the galaxy always needs Cayle," She said and stood. To her surprise Garrus chuckled slightly.

"Liara, your people live for a thousand years and last estimate I have heard on Shepard is probably going to last over two hundred but even then no one is sure with that tech in her. You don't need to rush everything right now." Garrus stood as well. "Well the armada is now fitted with the IFF's so we are ready to head into the relay. I believe you lover gave you a direct order and it's time to obey it."

Liara smiled to him, "Thank you Garrus." She said and hugged him again. They moved out of the room and to the lift, "Ashley leading the charge?"

"Yes," Garrus said. "It will be all right, Ashley is a good soldier and leader, contrary to what you want to believe."

"I know," Liara said, "Last time all the races were together," She trailed off.

"Shepard was in charge, well, technically she was the one that gave the order to go and get her wasn't she. You can always think Ashley is obeying that."

Liara laughed as they moved out into the CIC and to the bridge. The Normandy had been designed in a joint project that involved the Turians and the Humans. For the first four years of its existence it housed Turians, Asari, Drell, Humans and even Krogan. The last little while the Aliens had left but most of the humans had remained and they had remember just how special the Normandy was because to them it was a symbol of something great and that symbol included all races. There was not one person aboard the ship that would argue Garrus taking over the vessel in Shepard's absence.

"We're ready Joker," he said standing behind the pilot.

"I hear that," Joker replied and he and Edi went through their check list together as Jeff brought the Normandy beside the new ship Vigil. Liara looked at it for the first time. She had not realized just how big it was, or maybe the Normandy was smaller than she thought it was. It was easily twice the size of the Normandy, maybe even a more of a corvette judging by the guns on the ship. It still had the sleek design of the Normandy however. It was a perfect ship for Ashley, Liara thought, big with lots of guns.

Ashley gave the order to move out and Liara checked mentally to make sure she had everything she needed. They were not sure what to expect when they entered the relay, Shepard had mentioned a base that she had only been to once. She had mentioned that it was made from reaper technology with the black plating and similar weapons. Shepard had mapped out what she had known which was the shuttle bay and how to get to the Ambassadors office. It was not the most helpful but it was a start and with bits and piece other had been able to extract from captured Cerberus officers they had a general idea of the layout.

Unfortunately they had no idea of where Shepard would be taken because they had no idea why the Ambassador wanted her so badly. Would he take her to the prisons and hold her, or to the infirmary to try and hypnotise her again, they would not know until they were on board.

Garrus placed his hand on Jokers shoulder. "Ok we're going to be heading over in a shuttle. You make sure you give us a way into the shuttle bay."

"Not a problem," Jeff said, he was cocky and had every right to be, and as far as Liara was concerned he was the best pilot she had ever known.

"Good luck, Jeff," Liara said.

"You too," Jeff replied.

"I am sorry I am unable to go with you," Edi said looking up to her. Liara smiled slightly, Shepard and the Ai had relationship that was unexplainable. Liara often thought of it as a mother daughter but then Edi was not much of a daughter. Liara chalked it up to a Mentor type relationship. Edi would easily credit Shepard with making her more alive. "But I am more dependent on the ship now and a simple EM burst would take me right out of the fight."

Liara could actually hear the regret in her voice. "It's ok Edi, I understand."

Before anyone else could say anything else the Vigil started moving and Ashley ordered everyone to follow. They made their way behind the bigger ship and through the Omega four relay. Once through they stood face to face with Cerberus Armada. Liara whistle, they certainly had more of a force than she thought possible. She had not been sure what to expect but it certainly was not this many ships.

"Wow," She said simply.

"We've faced worse," Garrus said.

"Yeah the Reaper war, that was bigger than this and we kicked their asses," Jeff added. Liara wanted to point out that Shepard kicked there asses by sacrificing herself, but held her tongue. "And this is Cerberus, we kicked their ass once before too."

That statement certainly was true. It was obvious that this Cerberus Armada had reaper technology but so did they. Event he Normandy's shields had been upgraded and they had the new weapons system based on the Reapers laser system.

Liara's focus went beyond the armada to the Cerberus station behind it. There was no mistaking that it belonged to Cerberus as it was in the shape of their icon. Like Shepard had said it was black, like a Reaper, but they certainly spared no expense. It was larger than the collector's base that had once occupied this space. They had placed it in the exact area the said base had been.

~Alright everyone, I don't think I need to remind you that somewhere behind those ships, in that big station lay Commander Shepard and we all know what she did for us. Cerberus has pushed their luck far enough and it's time that we show them, and everyone else that is still guided by hatred and prejudice that it is no longer tolerated. Now Cerberus threatens our peace once again. We all remember what Cerberus did during the war, the thousands upon thousands of people they killed.

Five years ago Shepard brought us all together to eliminate the Reaper threat and even though most of us doubted everything she did, she showed us how strong we are together and through that strength we overcame and we flourished. Let's show Cerberus just how resolved we are, let's go in there and get our Commander back. ~

Liara could not help but smile. It was not what she expected but it was good. Perhaps Ashley would make a better Spectre then Liara had given her credit for.

~Fire, ~ Ashley's voice roared and the Allies did so as they all moved forward. Cerberus quickly returned fire and the battle had begun. Liara gripped the back of Jeff's chair so she would not be knocked off her feet.

After the first volley Jeff locked on to a Cerberus ship and chased it down. Edi quickly fired on it and they watched as it exploded, "Yeah! Take that you bitches!" Jeff yelled. He had far too much fun in these situations.

"We better get ready," Garrus said. Liara nodded and they moved off the bridge and headed to the shuttles.

"You think she's ok?" Liara asked Garrus as they walked.

"I don't think they would have taken the trouble to come and trap her and take her just to kill her at this point. They need her for something, maybe they always did. Maybe that was why they created Lissa, so they could get what they needed."

"You think they are going to try and recreate that?"

"Well, that would be the least worrisome thing they could do," Garrus answered and looked to her as they got on the lift. Liara simply nodded knowing exactly what he meant.

* * *

The assault units were starting to litter the shuttle bays quickly and the fighting was fierce. The Allied troops were in full armour and helmet as well as mag boots. Cerberus was not past venting the hangars to get rid of the troops, even if it meant killing their own soldier. They had seen that manoeuvre on the last Cerberus station they had attacked. This time they were prepared.

Liara and Garrus were pinned behind their shuttle as they returned fire on the Cerberus troop. There were several other Allied shuttles coming in and dropping off troops and it would only be a matter of time before they had this bay under control. They would use this as a FOB as soon and EDI could control it. The AI admitted that it was harder to do sitting on the Normandy but then Edi had done some pretty amazing things in her time. Liara was more concerned with Edi finding Shepard though.

~Cerberus seems to have developed another enhanced defence intelligence system, although not unshackled as I am, it is still, ~ she paused, ~putting up a fight. I have not managed to gain control of the hangar as of yet, but I have located Commander Shepard. ~

"Great Edi, where is she?" Garrus asked.

~She is being held in a holding area in the port side of the station. It said it is on level six, I have sent the schematic to your omni tools but it is quite a bit away from your location. Most of the Cerberus troops are in the shuttle bays so if you can manage to get past them then resistance will be minimal. ~

Liara looked out from where she and Garrus were held up. The battle was still fierce. Liara chuckled slightly. Her hand and arm lit up with blue wisps as she threw a warp field at a group of Cerberus soldiers heading for three Quarians ducking behind a half wall. She and Garrus fired at them as they were ripped off their feel and tossed into the air.

"Sure, should be easy," Liara said and sighed. Garrus was about to respond there was a sudden explosion and the shuttle rocked, pushing them both forward.

"Mechs," Garrus cursed and moved to a knee bringing up his sniper rifle. He took a shot and then set to reload. As he did Liara threw a sticky grenade on the large machine.

"We got it," One of the Quarians Liara had assisted called back to her. He tapped something into his Omni tool and the large mech suddenly turned and fired on its own troops. "It won't last forever so take the break and take it down."

They set out to do so, but not so much in a rush as the Cerberus troops scrambled to find new cover from their own ally.

"We should go now," Liara said pushing at Garrus. With the confusion and re positioning taking place, now was the perfect time to slip through the defence. Garrus replaced his mantis with his assault rifle and the two of them made their way from cover to the door that would lead them into the station. "Edi, get us through the door quickly."

~I am almost through Liara; I have been working on it for some time. It will be a small window before their AI shuts my hacking program down. It has been a constant battle. ~

"We can count on you Edi," Liara said casting a stasis as a Centurion appeared near the door. Garrus took him out before the field disappeared. "We're here." She said holding her pistol tightly and looking out at the battle. Garrus opened fired on another soldier that was turning in their direction. She could not even imagine was what was involved with dueling AI's.

The doors opened finally and they wasted no time in getting beyond it. "My money id on you Edi," Liara said, now that the fight was muffled behind them.

~Yes it is a good program but I have something it does not, ~ Edi said, Liara could almost note a sound of pride in her voice.

"What would that be?" Garrus asked equally as curious. They made their way down the hall to a closed door. Beyond the door would be a research room according to the maps on the omni.

~I have imagination, and a personality, this AI is relatively new and is still shackled, as such it has not been allowed to develop much on its own. It would be like a smart child trying to outwit its parents. ~

"Some children are very smart Edi," Liara cautioned.

~As are some parents. ~ Edi boasted.

"Well she got you there," Garrus said with a smile as they moved through the empty research room. It seemed as though Cerberus had the same defence for all of their stations. When breached destroy everything and retreat.

They passed the laboratories and into some large room. Liara could not help but compare it to the room on Cronos that housed the Human reaper. The only difference was this one house a reaper and judging by the size Liara had no doubt it was Harbinger. He had obviously been worked on and several sections were missing, but he was more intact than the Human reaper had been.

"I don't think I like being this close to that thing," Garrus said but could not help it, he reached out to touch the thing.

~Apparently if you go down there will…~ Edi's voice was suddenly replaced by a loud squeal then silence.

"Edi," Liara whispered, there was no response. Garrus tried it as well with no response.

"Something must be blocking her out," Garrus said, "but we do need to go down about three levels. There should be a back door to the…"

Liara heard an almost silent hiss and looked up in time to see a grenade coming in their direction. She shoved Garrus as hard as she could then dove in the opposite direction. Unfortunately she ran out of catwalk and was barely able to grab a hold of the railing before flying over. She hung by one hand, her pistol was gone.

"Garrus," She called out.

"Hold on," He shouted back and opened fire at the small group of Cerberus soldiers. Before he could continue a soldier appeared suddenly before him and punched him in the face. Thinking fast Garrus grabbed the man by the collar. He had seen Shepard use her cloak before but he had never had to fight against it before. They struggled as two others joined them. One of them a female looked down to Liara. She smiled.

"Bye," the woman said and kicked Liara fingers until she fell. Thankfully she didn't have far to fall as she hit the catwalk about ten feet blow, it still knocked the wind out of her.

"Liara!" She heard Garrus call as the man that had originally attacked him went sailing by her and down into wherever this chamber ended. He still had the two others to contend with.

"I'm good," she called back but as she stood she almost fell back down, pain lanced through starting at her ankle. She gently stepped on it and felt the pain again, but she was able to put pressure on it. "I'm coming to get you." She said and placed one of the persons attacking Garrus in stasis.

There were other soldiers coming out now. "Liara go and get her," He called out and opened fire. "I'll be ok."

"Garrus!"

"Go," Garrus ordered as he punched at one officer and shot another. Liara stood torn, Shepard in one direction and Garrus in the other. "Now."

Liara nodded and limped as fast as she could for the door. She could hear footfalls on the catwalk behind her. She turned and let out a warp taking out two of the Cerberus officers that were chasing her. She made it to the door and in and used the control panel to lock it. To her surprise no one knocked on the door. Her eyes narrowed as she turned around.

"Liara T'Soni, nice to finally meet you," a man stepped out of the shadows. Liara imagined it was the Ambassador. Cayle had told her he was handsome and younger than one would expect him to be. She mentioned his smoky grey eyes. She had not been wrong, he was a handsome man.

"The Ambassador," She spat out. He smiled.

"Very good Shadow broker, I knew you were a smart one," He said

"Where's Shepard?" Liara demanded.

"She's a little but preoccupied at the moment. We could leave a message and tell her you are here waiting,"

Well, at least she was alive Liara thought to herself. "Where is she," Liara demanded again as she felt the anger surge within her, she liked this man less then she liked The Illusive Man. Blue wisps were surrounding her now and she took a step forward.

The Ambassador tilted his head and smiled, he held up a fist as green wisps of smoked filtered around it. "You are not the only biotic in this room, T'Soni," He turned his back to her, "However, since you asked so nicely, I will show you."

He motioned her to stand beside him, she did so.

"You know, when we first found Shepard she was in a lot of pain, broken far beyond what anyone else would ever be able to endure," he explained, Liara wince, Cayle had never spoken about that. "She was in so much pain that she would open her mouth to scream, but no sound would come out. For a long while we were not even sure we would be able to fix her, but then I was told that we could control her. They said that her pain mixed with certain drugs would leave her open and very susceptible to hypnosis and it work. Lissa was born."

"Why?"

"Well, at first it was just because we could, then Lissa became a very useful tool and very good at her job and for a while that was enough. Then we found Harbinger and Harbinger had this control device. We are not sure what it does, but we do know that it is powerful and it is linked to the Omega 4 relay. The only problem was we needed someone who could understand the Cipher and since the last people, harvested by Harbinger were Protheans it was in their cipher and as far as I know, there are only two people who know that cipher, one of them I have."

"Shepard," Liara confirmed.

"Yes, but there is a small problem."

"She won't translate it for you," Liara said with pride. The Ambassador turned to her, the smile still on his face.

"Not at this moment," He said and pressed some buttons on the console beside him. The wall that was in front of her gave way to a large window. Through the window was a rather large room and about a story down was Shepard. She was kneeling with her arms tied to poles on either side of her. She was wearing only her cloth underclothing but even they were covered in blood. "But eventually she will break and you, my dear, just might be the final straw."

Liara had no idea what he was talking about but her anger got the better of her. Her fist was up and she was about to unleash a warp field when The Ambassador lifted his own hand and she felt herself rise off the ground and slam into the wall. The doors opened and two Centurions came out, picking her up, making sure she could not use her hands.

"Take her down, make sure Shepard can see her," The Ambassador said and the centurion's drug Liara out of the room. Liara closed her eyes and calmed herself. Until know Liara had only melded with Shepard while they were touching, she had never tried it over distance especially not the forty feet that separated them. She did it anyway calling out to Shepard, "I'm coming Lover, fight." She had so much more she wanted to send but the short message was enough that she felt slightly weak. She took another few seconds to recover some energy then she pulled her arms and twisted at the same time. Luckily one arm came lose and she sent her capture flying into the wall.

"I'm coming," She said with grim determination.


	26. Chapter 26

**This next chapter is why this story was started to being with. It was a scene I played in my head after hearing the music The Reluctant Warrior by Immediate Music watch?v=cc45DZDkaM8 . Note in my play through my Shepard would never utter the words.. Then the Illusive man was right. **

Chapter 26

Shepard could not remember how she got here, she wasn't even sure where here was. She had fought the Ambassadors people until finally she was completely overwhelmed and even then she continued to fight. She had injuries on top of injuries but she was not going to let them take her easily. If they wanted her they were going to have to pay. She fought until she was ground into unconsciousness.

The Ambassador wanted her alive and she could tell by his voice that he needed her alive. She was not sure what for but she knew she could use that to her advantage, if she ever woke up. She had tried to a few times but only ended up stirring, hearing muffled voices and falling back into unconsciousness.

The times that she stirred she could hear the Ambassador talking to her; she was unable to really focus on what he was talking about. What she did remember was pain, so much pain that she was screaming. She preferred unconsciousness.

"Get up," that voice she recognized, she would never forget it. The non-corporeal catalyst had stolen the form of the young child she had tried to save so many years ago. She hated it then and she still hated it now. She had been injured and in pain then, when he had appeared to her. The two time lines were converging together.

"Where am I?" She asked but she had no idea if she was dreaming or really asking the question. She felt as though someone was turning her stomach inside out. "I need to stop the Reapers, do you know how I do that?"

"Just read the Cipher." This was not the child speaking but the Ambassador and at the moment Shepard had no idea what he meant by cipher.

"You have altered the variables," the child continued, not even acknowledging the new voice.

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked. There was a new jolt of pain this time at the base of her neck down to her waist. She finally opened her eyes and was back on the crucible, the little ghostly boy standing with her.

"The crucible changed me, created new possibilities. But I can't make that happen. If there is to be a new solution you must act. It is now in your power to destroy us. But be warned, others will be destroyed as well. The crucible will not discriminate. All synthetics will be targeted. Even you are partly synthetic."

Now, like then, she thought of Edi first and then the Geth. Edi had come so far in her understanding of humanity, even the fact that she wanted to understand, craved to understand was a testament as to how far synthetic life could go. Even the Geth, once understood, had been eager to help in the fight against the Reapers. This self-proclaimed maker of the Reapers was wrong in every aspect of what he was told her. Organics and synthetics could live together; the proof was right outside of the crucible. That was not the point anymore though. She had to destroy the Reapers.

"But the reapers will be destroyed?"

"Yes but the peace won't last. Soon your children will create synthetic, and then chaos will come back."

Shepard did not believe that the chaos was in the synthetic, it was in who created them and even then it made no difference. Edi was created by Cerberus and she turned out fine. The creature went on about two other choices which to her were wrong on so many levels. The Illusive Man had tried to control the Reapers and looked what happened to him. Besides, control them meant they were still around and that was unacceptable, they had to be destroyed so they could not rise again. She would not even trust herself with the kind of power that choice offered.

The other choice of Synthesis was not an option. She in no way had the right to play god and completely re-write the genetic code of so many species. She did not see this as the next step in evolution as the ghost child suggested. One of the things that made the universe so special was diversity. She had no right to throw everyone into one pot and melt them together. That was how the Protheans lost the war; they were not diverse.

There was more pain, almost as if someone had placed a hot poker in the middle of her nervous system. She screamed, even in her delusional dreams she screamed and fell to the ground. "Or you could use the cipher," The child said out of the blue. She looked up to the child but he was gone. In his place a non-corporeal Ambassador stood looking down at her. "Just use the cipher and everything will be ok," he said and jammed something into her back. She screamed again as the pain was so consuming. At this point she was not sure what the cipher was but she was not going to oblige the Ambassador anything.

"The paths are open but you have to choose," the child's voice came back to her. She looked up at the three different streams. There was only one choice as far as she was concerned and it was the choice that involved destroying the Reapers permanently. She moved to her hands and knees and attempted to get up.

"No!" The Ambassador shouted and slammed something hard into her back. She fell back down to the ground.

"You go nowhere until you read translate the cipher." He said. Again Cayle was having a hard time separating her dreams from reality and given the pain she was feeling it was probably a good thing. She began to crawl toward the red machine a pistol suddenly in her hand.

"We need to take a break, Sir, let things settle as they are, we are at the point of getting nowhere," She heard somewhere in her delusions.

"Very well, we will give her a bit to get adjust before we come back. Is she even conscious anymore?" the Ambassador asked.

"Well she has stopped screaming so I will say no."

Shepard moved from a belly crawl to her hands and knees and then to her feet. She stood for a few moments collecting herself. There was not a part of her body that was not in pain. Slowly she continued. Every step she took was a challenge and then raising her gun even more so. When she was close enough she started firing. There was no aiming involved which was a good thing, her eyes were not able to focus. She continued to fire and walk; she needed to destroy the Reapers. With them gone everything she held dear had a chance. She thought of Liara, her lover deserved life and she was going to give it to her. She felt the determination well up inside of her as the explosions nearly took her off her feet. She held the pistol in both hands and continued to fire, grim determination plain on her face. She continued to fire until she could not fire anymore and all that was left was pain.

* * *

As an orphan Cayle was selfish and intolerable. She had always done what she wanted, when she wanted, which was probably why she had gone through so many foster homes. By the time she was thirteen she was living on her home, taking up residence in abandoned building or, in the summer on roof tops. The only person she had to worry about was herself. She stole her food and clothing and kept herself away from the gangs and life was passible.

Her favorite pass time was going into the other neighbor hoods where life was good and watching the families there. There were no real families in the slums and if there were they were few and far between and even then they were struggling.

Outside of the slums people were happy and content and parents loved their children. Kids played with each other out on the street as if there were not a care in the world. They did not have to worry about starving, or being shot or worse. She loved to watch parents playing with their children, or families sitting at a dinner table talking and laughing. She could watch them for hours and sometime envision herself sitting or playing amongst them.

When she was fourteen her little self-absorbed world was shattered. She buried the memories of the night she was attacked deeply but that night had changed her. Not for the better either. She had withdrawn further into herself and become something that she would regret until she died.

At some point between being a soldier for the Blood and being part of the Alliance something had changed in Shepard. It had become about others and not her. Everything she started doing was to ensure that others could have a better life than she did. She had not even been aware of the change, not until Liara had come into her life.

Cayle could still feel the dullness of the pain, there was not a spot on her body that did not fill her with a dull ache. However as she thought of the woman she loved it was more tolerable. She thought of the first time she had realized she loved Liara and she thought of the first time they had made love. Cayle had studied the Asari physiology and even read a couple of book on the topic but as they kissed and touched each other that night she found that exploring on her own was a better teacher. Both she and Liara had moved slowly, learning what each other like and learning what secret pleasures both bodies held. It had felt so right, they fit so well together and when Liara had merged their minds together Shepard had thought she had gone to heaven. She had never been adequately able to describe what she had felt.

She smiled to herself locking herself in that memory, holding on to the good for as long as she could. She knew the Ambassador was done with her and she had seen him torture enough people to know exactly what she was in for. She swore to herself to hold on to that memory, no matter what the bastard did to her.

She slowly returned to consciousness as someone was yelling at her to wake up, they had thrown a bucket of water over her. She tried to open her eyes but it was hard. She did manage to open one but everything was fuzzy. She could taste the metallic tinges of blood in her mouth. She slowly raised her head.

"Cayle, really, is this necessary, I will get you to read and translate this cipher one way or another." The Ambassador said moving to one leg in front of her. Her head fell and she started to fade again. She felt him grab her hair and hold her face up. "You need to stay awake. We can't talk if you keep passing out."

"Don't feel like talking right now," she said.

"Oh Cayle, really, you've witnessed enough of these to know everyone talks," he said caressing her cheek as if they were lovers. He nodded to someone behind her and she felt a burning pain in her lower back move up an out to her limbs. He was using that device he called the pain stick. She had heard people cry and scream and eventually breaks down under the charge of the pain stick. He was using it on her as a last resort; all she had to do was endure. He had beaten her, whipped her and even started with the small cuts but she endured, she would do the same with the pain stick.

"I am not everyone," Shepard spat out, her blood smattering over his face. He nodded and the pain went away, she started to lose consciousness again.

"When it boils down to it Shepard, everyone who comes in this room ends up equal. They all start out strong but end up crying in my arms. You will as well," water splashed over her again and she spit it out of her mouth.

"I'm not going to do what you want."

"No, right now you're not, but it will come." He said. Another man came in the room and whispered in his ear. "Already?" said and stood up.

"I'll be back," He said with a smile, he threw the person behind her a knife. "I want her soaking in her blood." He said, "It's good for show."

With that he smiled and left the room. She watched his unfocused form leave the room through her good eye and then let her head hang. She only had a second to take a rest before something sharp dug into her shoulder. She screamed again and continued to scream until he stopped. She almost passed out again but he hit her with the freezing cold water again and walked away. She could feel him just standing in the back of the room. She pulled at her restraints and they gave slightly but not much. She thought for a second of pulling harder to really test them but she imagined the man behind her would simply hurt her some more. She would wait until they were gone.

She had no idea of how long he left her alone but then she heard the Ambassadors voice in a speaker, "Go ahead, and continue." He said. She closed her eye and gripped the straps around her wrist. She screamed loudly as the pain stick hit her one again. When it pulled away she almost passed out.

~I'm coming Lover, fight. ~ She felt Liara in her head. She was here and she was in trouble. That bastard had her and she was injured. If she didn't act…

"NO!" she screamed and yanked on the binding as hard as she could, spurred on by the fact that the Ambassador was probably planning on torturing Liara to get her to talk. The man who had been torturing her ran forward and grabbed a hold of her as she snapped the restraint on her arm and used it to try and get out of the left one. She wrapped the restraint around the man's neck and pulled as hard as she could. Other troops began to come in to try and restrain her and she threw the body she was holding at them. Someone opened fire as she stood and ran towards them, she slide on her knees as she hear the first shot, grabbing the first leg she came to.

She kicked up with her foot and the man crumpled to a knee and she reached with the rope and wrapped it around his neck, using her momentum to end up on his back. Jamming her knees into his back she forced him to sit up and she ducked behind him as someone else shot. They hit him instead of her. Somebody punched her in the face after she heard the Ambassador order her captured alive. That would help her out greatly.

Her adrenaline was flowing fully through her now as she spun and kicked at her pursuers until she finally spotted the door. She needed to get there. She pulled a knife from the belt of one attack and plunged it into the shoulder of another. She had no idea of how many people in this room were after but she spun and weaved and attacked until she found herself at the door. She had to get out; she had to get to…

"Liara," the name hung on her lips as the door opened in front of her and there she stood looking like she had fought a war as well. They looked into each other's eye for only a second as the adrenaline started to fade. She started to fall but Liara caught her.

"I got you lover," Liara said gently and guided her out of the room, several marines rushed passed them and Cayle could hear the gun shot muffled in the background as the door shut.

"You're here," Cayle said and smiled, she had never seen such a wonderful sight before, even if it was blurry.

"I had to come," Liara smiled back and brushed her fingers over her. "You gave the order for us to come and get you.

"So you brought an army with you."

"I brought them all, just for you," Liara said and kissed her as she practically held Cayle on her feet.

"I love you, but I really want to get the hell out of this place." Cayle said when their lips parted.

"I think that is a great idea," She said and they continued to make their way back to the forward base of operation.

**Well this is the the scene that I envisioned when this storyt first hit my head. Basically with the music, Shep being all tortured until Liara calls to her then she goes all Shep like on her torturers, spining in circles taking guys out as she goes, making her way to the door and when she openes it Samara is there, she falls into her lovers arms. Of course I first envisioned the scene after my very firt play through of Mass Effect 2, I had never played Mass Effect and I really had no idea of the big picture. My character had no LI cause I went for Samara and she turned me down. But I envisioned this story where Jack ended up being Sheps sister and Shep got captured by mercs when she stopped them from grabbing Jack. Samara found out and went to rescue Shepard. **

**Of course then I played the first game and well, it became all about Liara and then I envisioned this scene with her and then of course Mass Effect 3 came out and I wanted a better ending so I satarted with this and worked backwards. Whe I started I had two scenes in mind the first and this, the rest came to me as I went along. **

**Now this does not mean Im done cause there are a couple more chapters coming. I just wanted to explain this chapter and the fact that I really hope people are enjoying it. It's been up and down for me. And I know this came out fast but I've actually been sick the last couple days and writing had helped me keep my mind off how crappy I've felt and yeah, so if you like it please let me know if not I apologize.**


	27. Chapter 27

Liara had shaken off the two guards that the Ambassador had order to drag her to Shepard. She moved down lift that would hopefully take her to the level that Cayle was on. She stood for a second and then decided the lift just might be the wrong idea. She opted instead to find a set of stairs that would take her down. As she reached the door she felt a bullet whiz by her head and spun around as she placed a barrier in front of her. One of the guards she thought was down was on one knee and firing.

Backing up to through the door she only lowered the barrier when she stepped through and sealed the door. She ran down the stair only making it half way before guards came up at her. She threw a warp in their direction and continued. She did not want to waste time. She had no idea what condition Cayle would be in. She was almost by when she felt an arm grab her around the waist. She struggled to get free, head butting the man in the face. She smiled as she saw blood flowing from his nose and thought she father would be proud of her, being part Krogan and all. Not that she would ever admit to it. She removed his shot gun and fired it into him.

She moved further down and out into a hall way and shot again as two Cerberus agent approached. Someone grabbed her from behind.

"That is about enough of that," The man said, securing her hand. A few more guard approached from down the hall. "The Ambassador want her in the same interrogation room as Shepard."

Before they could go any further she was suddenly covered in a wash of blood as the man's head exploded. She turned to see several marine come from the stair way. One of them approached her.

"Ye sure pissed aff th' boss, missy. She had us gonnae foo tilt tae we fin' ye." Liara raised a brow, he sounded an awful lot like Donnelly, Scottish, she was sure he had said he was Scottish.

"They have Shepard down here," Liara said.

"Hauld it a moment, we'll check their computers, fin' it which room she is in," he said held out his omni tool. He moved over to the console for the lift. "Am Major Gard by th' way."

Liara was not interested in introduction. She moved to stand beside him. "Anything?"

"Gezz a minute," The Major said as his biggish finger moved over the interface, " Th' boss said we'ur tae brin' ye an' Shepard back in one piece, so please jist be patient."

Liara was not interested in being patient either. Her arm crossed over her chest and she leaned back, biting her lip to stop her from saying something she might regret. The man and his unit were just trying to help. She started to tap her foot without even realizing it.

"Foond 'er," He said after a minute or two, he started to move down the hall with Liara and his unit following, "thes way."

By the time they got to the door Liara could already sense her she was fighting and she was hurt.

"She's in there," she said to the Major.

"Ye jist stain back, lit us gang in an' clear th' room." The Major said.

"I don't think so," Liara reached out and open the door before the major could protest and came face to face with Shepard. Her lover was breathing heavy and looked at her for a moment as if in a trance. Liara's heart jumped as she looked, one eye was bruised shut and she was bleeding from her ears and nose. Blood even trickles from the side of her mouth. Hatred flared through Liara like it have never before. She would kill the Ambassador for what he did to Cayle.

"Liara," Shepard whispered, barely able to speak. Shepard took a deep breath and then collapsed to her knees; Liara caught her before she crashed to the floor.

"I got you lover," Liara said gently and guided her out of the room, Major Gard moved his men past her into the room to take care of the Cerberus troops that Cayle had been fighting. Liara could hear the battle muffled from behind the door.

"You're here," Cayle said and smiled.

"I had to come," Liara smiled back and brushed her fingers over her forehead, moving her hair away from a cut. "You gave the order for us to come and get you.

"So you brought an army with you."

"I brought them all, just for you," Liara said and kissed her as she practically held Cayle on her feet.

"I love you, but I really want to get the hell out of this place." Cayle said when their lips parted.

"I think that is a great idea," She said and they continued to make their way back to the forward base of operation. Two of the marines went with them.

They managed to get half way back before Liara felt her feet taken out below her and she was floating in the air. Before she could say anything she was flying through the air and into a wall. Cayle fell to the ground when Liara was forced to release her. Cayle heard several shot and when she managed to stand it was The Ambassador walking towards her.

"That's a neat trick you hid from me," Shepard said, forcing herself to stand straight, "biotics."

"There were a few things you did not need to know Cayle," he said and moved until he was right in front of her. She looked into his eyes.

"I'm going to kill you," Shepard said.

"Maybe, but not right now," He grabbed her by the arm and motioned for his two bodyguards to grab Liara. They moved back into his office.

"I'm going to have to train those Marines how to clear out a room much better," Shepard said as they moved. She looked back as one of the guards was carrying Liara. She had a bump forming on her head, and what appeared to be an older cut, but looked unhurt otherwise.

"Oh it's not their fault," The Ambassador said, "I have little tricks of my own and you showed me how valuable being cloaked can be."

They moved into his room and he closed and locked the door behind them.

"Why did you not just get out of here when you could," Shepard asked. She would have made her escape if she had been him.

"Not yet my dear, I still have a task for you," he said and opened a large metal case that was sitting on his desk. Inside was a medium sized black box with blue lines, like electric bolts flowing through it.

"What is that?" She asked.

"That, Cayle, is my future, the control harness for Harbinger. You are going to tell me just what it control and how to use it," He said.

"No," Cayle started, "I don't think I am."

The Ambassador smiled and took her hands in his and placed them on the harness. For a few second nothing happened and Shepard looked up from the box to him with a sneer on her face.

"There you go, all this for not…" the blue streaks shot suddenly from the box and up through her arms. Her whole body went taut as the blue streaks flowed through her system. She had felt this before, the first time she had come in contact with the Prothean device on Eden Prime. Images flowed through her head making only a little more sense, but with the images came locations and solar charts and star systems she had never seen before. Like the original Prothean device there was pain and death and destruction but the races involved she had never seen before. The images and feeling hit every nerve in her body and the pain was sharp and unyielding for an undetermined amount of time. Then as quickly as it hit, it was gone and Shepard fell to the ground.

Her mind was a mess and she had a hard time putting it back in order as the images remained and haunted her. She struggled to stand.

"Shepard!" It was Liara, who was somehow at her side. "What did you do to her?"

"Well?" The Ambassador was looking for her to revel what she had seen but she was barely able to talk. Even if she could she had a bit of an idea of what the information was and there was no way she would ever give it to him.

"Go to hell," She finally managed to spit out and Liara decided to oblige her and before the Ambassador could even respond Liara threw a singularity field at him. He barely managed to get out of the way, pulling out a pistol but Liara placed a barrier between them quickly.

"This ends today," Liara said. Cayle moved to her feet, gathering as much energy she could. There were two guards to deal with; Liara could not take them all on herself. For the first time in her life she wished she had some sort of biotic abilities. She accosted the closest guard, attaching herself to his body and using her knees and elbows to work on him. Liara ignored the guard and went directly at the Ambassador.

Cayle managed to wrestle the pistol from the guard and jammed it under his neck and fired. She blinked only slightly as she was showered with blood, teeth and brains. She fell to her knees and turned on the other guard how was aiming at Liara. Shepard took no time to open fire at him but he rolled behind the desk. Shepard ran and slid over the desk landing on him on the other side. She quickly fired to shot into the top of his head, thinking only slightly that they were the kind of kills that Lissa would make. At this point it didn't really matter.

She turned to the Ambassador gaining some energy; before she could fire though he threw her across the room. He turned to her firing she dove back behind the desk. This was far too small of a room to be having a battle in. Shepard grabbed the guards Omni tool. She came up while he was distracted by Liara and ran at him. He turned and threw her into Liara as she was about launch her own attack.

He blew out the window to his office and lowered himself to the ground. Shepard looked to Liara. "Catch me," She said and jumped out after the man.

"Shepard!" she called and ran catching the Spectre in her own field before she hit the ground. She lowered her gently cursing in her head. She quickly grabbed the harness and followed. The marines had obviously cleared the room and moved out. She watched as Shepard picked up and assault rifle and ran after the Ambassador. Liara quickly followed grabbing herself a weapon. She could help but wonder how Shepard could do. How even though it looked like she had nothing left to give she always found a way to give more.

She was slowly catching up to her lover when they turned into a room, she ran faster and as she entered the overly large warehouse type room, she felt a hand on her wrist and was pulled to the ground. Shepard covered her with her body as something exploded into the wall where the door had been.

"He found a Mech, or armour of some sort" Shepard said.

"You've got to be kidding me," Liara took a second to look out, expecting to see an armoured vehicle. Instead the Ambassador was encased in some pink like glow, almost like the armour the tech armour Liara had seen Sentential use, expect this covered his entire body and she had a feeling it did more than just being an extra shield. "What the hell is that?"

"I really don't know, some sort of light Mech like thing that has tech armour as well

Shepard brought up her omni tool and was disappointed but not surprised to note there were no tech programs on it. It did have the cloak program that the Ambassador had been so proud of earlier. "I can get on the other side of him. I shot a few times with the assault rifle but it was not very effective. We might have to get in close."

"We have no over loading electrical surges this time," Liara said with a slight smile.

"No but I have cloak and I can hack into the armour. I'll get to the other side and bring the armour down and then we can attack."

"Sounds like a plan," Liara kissed her quickly, "For luck."

Shepard gave her the lopsided grin that she loved so much and disappeared. The Spectre was using strength that she really should not have as she pushed off and moved as quietly as possible.

"Well Shepard, did you see?" The Ambassador said, spinning around as if knowing she was moving. "It's the future and it needs to be ours."

She wanted to tell him that he was talking too much but it seemed as though high ranking Cerberus officials were prone to that disease. The Illusive Man loved to hear himself talk, all the time, it seemed as though the Ambassador like to as well.

Truth was Shepard was not sure of what she had seen. She had an idea, but she was more than certain it was not what the Ambassador was hoping for. She needed time, perhaps to view the message again, or maybe even get Javik to look at it.

She moved to the other side of the room and brought the Omni tool up she quickly set to work, sabotaging the armour. She sent it off and then attacked. As she did the cloak dropped, she opened fire but groaned as the shield was still active. She was even more annoyed as the Ambassador turned in her direction and returned fire.

"Damn," She grunted as she dived out of the way and then rolled for better cover. She cloaked again as Liara threw a singularity in his way. He walked threw it as if it was not there.

"The funny thing is, Cayle, this was to be Lissa's armour. It's a little slow but it has some amazing abilities, like a defence against hacking," turned back to her, it was indeed faster than a normal large Mech, but then it was only a quarter of the bulk enriched with the tactical cloak and added in some extra fire power. It was more like an exoskeleton than a Mech. She wasn't surprised; Cerberus had been making some great leaps in technology while the rest of the Galaxy was putting itself back together.

She moved quietly away from where she had taken cover.

"One other little surprise," The ambassador continue and turned and forced Cayle into a corner. "Cloak is useless, it detects body heat."

He opened fire a second later then it took Liara to surround Cayle in a barrier. She moved behind him, the anger taking her over completely. How dare this man even attempt to take away the woman Liara had just got back. It was bad move but she was not thinking clearly. She raised both hands and lashed them out harshly in his direction as he turned to face her blue wisps shot from them and surrounded him for a second before it lifted him into the air and threw him into the wall. She fell to her knees, drained.

Shepard took the opportunity and jumped on the Ambassador punching and kicking. The Ambassador responded in kind but Cayle was tapering in energy quickly and was not sure how much more she could take. She fell to her knees as the Ambassador hit her one again; she fell face down on the ground and struggled to get up.

"Well, it was a good try, Shepard," the Ambassador said, "Even you could only take so much no one can blame you, and it was a good fight."

The Ambassador grabbed a pistol and placed it against Cayle's head. She had nothing left to push it away. She pushed herself to her knees and looked up at him defiantly.

"You forgot about something," Shepard said breathing heavily.

As they fought Liara had climbed to a boom hanging from a catwalk and loosened a large beam that had been held up. It was connected to crane and as she disconnected the wire holding it to the cat walk the beam arced down. It took only a little biotic push to force it in the right direction. Cayle fell flat to the ground as the beam fell, striking the Ambassador and carrying him to and threw the wall. Shepard smiled up to Liara.

"Quick thinking Blue," She said with a smile, "Now can you help me up."

Liara floated to the ground and grabbed the harness as she moved and helped Shepard to her feet. The Spectre leaned heavily on her. They moved over to where the Ambassador had been thrown and looked.

The exoskeleton lay on the ground empty but the man was nowhere to be found. "Maybe he's under the rubble?" Shepard asked.

"We can only hope," Liara answered.

"Shepard?" Garrus limped into the room followed by the Marines from the Normandy. Shepard smiled to him.

"Garrus, you're late to the party," Cayle said with a smile. Garrus laughed.

"Judging by the looks of you it must have been quite the party," he replied.

"I've been to better."

"We got the harness," Liara said and handed it to the Turian.

"Do we know what it does?"

"Oh, I think I have an idea." Shepard said. "Let's get it on board the Normandy and when we are feeling better, I'll tell you all about it."


	28. Chapter 28

Shepard awoke in sick bay with a bit of a de ja vu feeling. For a few moments there she thought she was back on the Normandy in sick bay after saving Kaidan from the Prothean relic. Dr. Chakwas was hanging dutifully by her side with a data pad in her hand. Cayle almost expected Anderson to walk through the door at any moment, wanting to be debriefed.

"Don't even try to get up; you had three gunshot wounds, two broken floating ribs a busted orbital lobe and so many cuts and bruises I didn't even try to count. And that's the small list. That doesn't even count the fact that I have received several request from Miranda that I get you back to Lazarus because she wants to investigate what Cerberus did to you the first time they had you."

"So I guess that means you don't want me to get up," Shepard smiled slightly.

"No, I also have a long list of people wanting to see you," Dr. Chakwas looked from her to the door. I will, however, allow one rather persistent visitor in for a few moments. I am warning you though, if you even try to sit up, I will remove her." It was silent as Shepard moved her head to look at the Doctor. They smiled to each other.

"It's good to be back," Shepard said.

"I don't think I need to tell you it's good to have you back. I love Ashley, but she is not you Commander Shepard, our irremovable center," She said and kissed Cayle on the forehead. "I am glad you are back. I have some brandy just waiting for us to celebrate your return."

Shepard felt a wave of emotion and took a deep breath as the Doctor turned and moved to the door and allowed Liara to enter. The Asari smiled as soon as she saw her lover was awake. She moved over and took Shepard's hand. "I promised I wouldn't jump into the bed with you," She said mischievously, Liara always looked so cute trying to be bad. Cayle chuckled.

"That's ok but how about a kiss?"

Liara smiled and leaned over giving her a small kiss, she had been warned by Chakwas about being physical and she was not going to do anything that would get her kicked out. "Everyone else is ok?"

"Garrus had to have some surgery but he had amour so it wasn't too bad. He went with one of the Turian ships back to Omega. Apparently you can't communicate outside of the relay. He wanted to let Tali know everything was ok.

"I can't wait to see them as parent," Cayle said and looked up to Liara, "Well, another threat averted and this time I didn't die." She gave Liara her half smile. "I always like it when I don't die."

"Me too, let's do it more often," Liara added, Shepard chuckled.

"Admiral Hackett is here, well not here on the Normandy but at the base. Chakwas told him he wasn't allowed to come and quiz you right away. He's been calling every hour,"

"I imagine they all want to know what the harness was."

"I almost didn't tell him we had it," She paused and pulled up a chair, "When I first started all this I was going to destroy it. Last thing we wanted was a Reaper to have to fight, especially Harbinger. I wanted to finish want you started."

Shepard smiled, "Now we can finish what we started."

Liara's heart skipped a beat before she remembered that Shepard was still slightly drugged. She did not want to put weight on this conversation. She knew deep in her heart Shepard was not ready for retirement. It was not a conversation for now anyway.

"Yes," She humoured her lover, as Shepard yawned. Her eyes started to get droopy. Liara smiled. She said nothing and just watched as Cayle drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Liara could not help but smile as she glowed. She finished arranging breakfast for Cayle and placed them on the server, everything her lover, loved. Bacon and eggs, something Liara particularly didn't like but she would do anything for Shepard. She added some toast and orange juice and a white flower.

It had only been a couple of months and Shepard was almost completely healed. She still had scars and always would but she was physically as strong as she ever was. She had been keeping up with her therapy as well as a workout routine the Chakwas had approved.

Liara could not help but feel grateful that they had an uninterrupted month together, most of the time alone, or at least, without any military talk or personal showing up. Not that they could go anywhere anyway. The Normandy was being retrofitted with new technology. The fact that the retro fit was taking place in orbit of Earth was even better.

She moved out onto the porch of the bamboo cabin she and Shepard had rented in Maui. Cayle lay in the sun wearing the bikini Liara had picked out for her. It was a beautiful morning and the sun was warming. She inhaled like she always did seeing Cayle almost naked; it was a sight she would gladly wake up to for a very long, long time. The making lover all night was wonderful as well.

She placed the breakfast on the table beside Shepard then lay down beside her on the large lounger. "This is like heaven," she said looking out into the Ocean.

"Only because I have my angel," Cayle said with a laugh.

"Ok we are getting hideously charming, some would consider it sickening," they both laughed.

"Well," Cayle took a piece of bacon and savoured it for a few moments, "Our charming little vacation is coming to an end. Admiral Hackett is coming to see us in about an hour, which means I actually have to wear real clothes."

Liara laughed, "It would be interesting to see if he could concentrate while talking to you in a bikini."

Shepard smiled and ate another piece of bacon. "I'm going to miss this place; we have never had so much time for just each other before." She wrapped her arms around her lover and looked out into the serenity of the ocean.

"You can still say no," Liara said but knew Cayle had already made up her mind. She regretted the words though.

"I could, but I don't think I am ready to just be a citizen, not now anyway, things are about to change so much. And I know you want to be there as well, you are far too curious to not want to be there."

"That is true. There are so many good things, the Normandy, the first interspecies ship. Well second, that Asari cruiser was first, it's a step in the right direction." Liara said.

"The Normandy was the first," Shepard said proudly, "It has not ever had not had "aliens" on board, even when it was a Cerberus ship. At least, not while I was in charge," She got coy, "and that's all that matters."

Liara laughed again and stood. "You finish eating; I'm going to go and get cleaned up and put some clothes on myself."

"That's too bad," Cayle said watching her walk away closely. "You looked good in that white bikini that doesn't hide much," She said and laughed as Liara smiled back to her before entering the hut. Shepard pulled her breakfast closer and began to eat.

Maui was far too hot for a uniform but Shepard wore hers anyway. She had debated for a long time but found she respected Hackett too much for anything less. Liara had changed into her normal work clothes as well. They were all packed anyway; it was there last morning on Maui before heading out. The Normandy had been retrofitted, Shepard was feeling great and she knew Chakwas would give her the clean bill of health.

Hackett was, as expected, in his dress uniform, sweating slightly from the heat even though Cayle had every fan in the cabin going. The three sat at the table as Hackett handed her a data pad.

"So everything is ready to go?" Shepard asked and looked up to the Admiral. Hackett nodded.

"It took them the better part of the month to figure out how to incorporate the harness into the Normandy, they have the schematics for more and the Vigil, one Turian and one Asari ship is presently being recalled to be fitted with a harness as well. It's been tested and we have sent a couple pf probes through and they have come back unscathed.

"Well I guess that is good to know," Shepard said, "Wouldn't want to make things a short trip."

"There was one other thing I wanted to go over with you before you head back to the Normandy," Hackett said standing up. "There's been a certain Quarian who has been working on the project that liked to come into my office to talk to me daily. This Quarian pointed out every single day how the Quarians did things and how, for the Quarians one who Commands a ship is a Captain. She also pointed out that her people already called you Captain Shepard," He continued. Cayle smiled, it was true, and there was not a Quarian out there who did not call her Captain Shepard. It was just the way of things with Tali's people. "I have to say that I agreed with her on that point. It's about time the Normandy had a Captain."

Shepard waited for a few moments trying to figure out who would be the new Captain for the Normandy. The only other Captain it had ever had was Anderson and that would be a hell tall shadow to fill. It was silent in the room and Shepard suddenly realized that Liara was smiling from ear to ear and Hackett had a set of epaulets in his hand. She looked up into his eyes.

"If anyone ever deserved this it is you, Captain Shepard, we can't have you going out and representing humanity and the galaxy as a Commander any longer."

Cayle found she was speechless and grateful Hackett had done this now instead of making a show out of it. "Thank you," she managed to mumble.

Hackett smiled and shook her hand, "It's good to have you back," He said, "The Normandy is scheduled to leave at 13:00 hours, don't be late. I'll see you at the relay in two days."

"I'll be there, Sir," She said taking the new epaulets for her uniform.

* * *

The Omega four relay. For the longest time no one knew what it was for. Many ships entered but none ever returned, at least not until the Normandy. She had been the first none Reaper type ship to pass through. It had sat a mystery for hundreds of years and now it was solved.

The Allied Forces had taken control of the Cerberus base that now stood where a collector's base had once stood. Aria had control of the Omega station, which for the time being was launching point for the defence of the relay. A station was being built by all the council races to take the place of Omega. Aria had not been happy about that but she would have to learn to live with it.

The control harness had not been as dangerous as everyone had thought it was when they were all hunting it. Shepard had tapped into it and seen what it was used for. She surprised everyone when she informed them it was the code for using the Omega four relay. That it accesses an advanced targeting system that allows it to compensate for the rotation of positions between galaxies as well as the rotation inside the galaxy itself. In other words it was not a harness but a key, a key that uploaded supplemental code to the relays that allow them to complete targeting trajectories to relays far outside the normal range of mass effect drives.

The Normandy had been retrofitted with this "key" and was now ready to be the first to go through to a whole new Galaxy. The Reapers had mentioned that they harvested from hundreds of galaxies.

Shepard and Liara joined Joker and Edi on the bridge, staring at the Omega four relay. Cayle could not help but feel excited and cautious all at the same time.

"Well this could either be one large step for this Galaxy or a quick painful death," Joker said.

"Well, let's hope for one large step," Shepard said, "They have sent several probes to the Parsons Galaxy and they have all returned unscathed."

It was quiet for a few moments longer. Shepard reached over and took Liara's hand. "Well, Joker, let put this one in the books." She said.

"Aye, Captain," He replied to her and set the Normandy into motion. She turned to Liara and smiled.

"The Universe is a big place, Dr. T'Soni, how bout we go get lost in the stars." She said as they sped up through the Omega Four relay and out into the great beyond…

* * *

**Ok, Done, and a thanks to Drussius from BSN for some techy talk. Also thanks to Fluffy who has been there, enthusiastically every single chapter and always making me feel good about what I write. I know this is not the best chapter but there was not much left to do. I was going to split it up and drag it out, but that is not my style and I would only do so because I will miss the characters.**

**It's been an interesting ride with some ups and downs; I never did get much in the negative critism, most people enjoyed it, I think. I also feel a bit of emptiness now that it's gone and a lack of direction on my next story. I have some ideas, one that stems from this ending but with OC's all around.**

**I also have some story ideas that have nothing to do with Mass Effect and I probably won't get as many readers, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Request are sometimes good if anyone has them.**

**Anyway, thank you everyone, it's been an experience.**


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